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What is antinatalism? Some believe world to be too cruel for procreation

By Louis Casiano

Published February 08, 2019

Fox News
27-year-old wants to sue his parents for giving birth to him without his consent Video

A philosophical concept that shuns human procreation is based on the view that life is so bad that people ought to stop having children to prevent human suffering.

One 27-year-old follower in India shed light on the concept after announcing his intent to sue his parents over his claim that he never consented to being created. Donning a fake beard and sunglasses, Raphael Samuel said in a YouTube video that because he never gave permission to be brought into the world, his parents should pay for his life.

Antinatalists – as the concept's believers are called – view procreation as morally wrong, and say human reproduction is intrinsically cruel. David Benatar, a South African philosopher and antinatalist argues that coming into existence is harmful given how much misfortune there is in the world.

The New Yorker, which profiled Benatar in 2017, quoted him in his book, "Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence,' as writing, "While good people go to great lengths to spare their children from suffering, few of them seem to notice that the one (and only) guaranteed way to prevent all the suffering of their children is not to bring those children into existence in the first place."

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The concept’s followers do not advocate suicide and most do not view that procreation should be deemed illegal. Antinatalism is popular in India where its growing population has prompted some to question whether such growth is sustainable.

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