For Sale: One Baby, Hardly Used, Excellent Condition

[Borodog]

I'll have to think about it.

[Metric]

[ QUOTE ]
Why do you hate children?

[/ QUOTE ] You crack me up, Borodog!

[soon2bepro]

[ QUOTE ]
Borodog, how about this question: should a woman/couple be allowed to sell older children? If a couple has a 7 year-old girl who they no longer want, should they be able to put her on the open market to the highest bidder?

[/ QUOTE ]

We know the demand for 7 y-o girls would be huge, if you know what I mean [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[SkinnyPuppy]

this was an interesting post. but for me it seems to raise many moral questions that you have all been discussing. if it wernt for the "moral" aspect of it all i think it wouldnt be a half bad idea for women to sell their babies,
whats the harm in that? make a little money for their trouble and get rid of a unwanted baby without killing it, and who knows, it might end up with a half decent life. i really fail to see too much negative in selling kids except for the religious people that get in a uproar about the littlest things that they feel the need to control. but i guess we could just have abortions if that weren't the case. sorry for babbling

[Marko Schmarko]

I think it's pretty clear that while more affluent families are more likely to be able to provide opportunities for their children, but in this situation, many would not. This market could very easily present a situation in which people were buying babies for personal gain, exploiting them, neglecting them, and having little emotional attachment.

Part of the rationale behind the current abortion system is that the more difficult it is to adopt a baby, the more dedicated one must be to pursue such an option, and the more attachment one will have afterwards. The effort and the prerequisite drive compound one another to ensure at least some level of attachment.

[ QUOTE ]
After all, it will represent a sizable investment.

[/ QUOTE ]

As I'm sure you're aware, this is a very relative statement. To a very rich man, no market could produce a situation in which the investment would be sufficiently large as to be a hindrance—hardly even a nuisance.

This would present a situation in which children could be collected at virtually no expense in enormous quantities. I think one must make some very optimistic assumptions about human nature to justify this sort of freedom.

And, lastly... and probably leastly, can you imagine being told that you were 'bought' as a small child? This stigma might devolve with time, but certainly initially, it would be catastrophic to one's self esteem. Admittedly, the difference between this and adoption would quickly approach 0.

[soon2bepro]

I think "babies factory" would be a funny thing to hear. Soon babies wouldn't be born but grown (matrix anyone? [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img])

This idea is clearly wrong.

[pokerjoker]

worst idea ever.

Every piece of trash in the US will start pumping out kids every 9 months. this might be the single worst law the US could ever impose.

[diebitter]

[ QUOTE ]


Every piece of trash in the US will start pumping out kids every 9 months.

[/ QUOTE ]

"will start" ?

[Apocalypso]

I was under the (apparent mis)conception that underlying libertarianism/anarcho-capitalism is the idea of human liberty - selling someone without their consent seems to conflict with this. A baby selling themselves would be fine.

I might be wrong/misinformed about this though.

[The Don]

[ QUOTE ]
worst idea ever.

Every piece of trash in the US will start pumping out kids every 9 months. this might be the single worst law the US could ever impose.

[/ QUOTE ]

1) The price goes way down if the market is flooded.

2) Given #1, I don't think that it would be worth the 9 months of pregnancy (medical bills, pain, extra food, all of the other stuff...) to do this.