Indian Man To Sue His Parents For Giving Birth To Him Without His Consent

Dialogue is always the best option for peace to reign in the world but does that actually apply to relationship between parents and their unborn child? Well, an Indian man is changing that narrative as he is about to sue his parents for giving birth to him without first engaging him in a dialogue and getting his consent before his birth.

The 27-year-old man, Raphael Samuel, from New Delhi, India, is an anti-natalist, a person who believes that people should abstain from procreation because giving birth to sentient beings without asking for their consent is morally wrong.
Samuel doesn’t have anything against children or life itself, he simply believes that a life form which has not given its consent to live should not be brought into the world and thus to be subject to the hardships of life. Because he considers himself a victim of life without “forced life”, the young Indian plans to take his parents to court.
“I want to tell all Indian kids that they don’t owe their parents anything,” Samuel told The Print.
“I love my parents, and we have a great relationship, but they had me for their joy and their pleasure. My life has been amazing, but I don’t see why I should put another life through the rigamarole of school and finding a career, especially when they didn’t ask to exist.”

The 27-year-old runs an anti-natalism Facebook page where he routinely posts anti-procreation messages like “Isn’t forcing a child into this world and forcing it to have a career, kidnapping and slavery?” or “Your parents had you instead of a toy or a dog, you owe them nothing, you are their entertainment”. His page, Nihilanand, only has 431 followers, but Raphael doesn’t seem to bothered about that, after all, we all have to start somewhere.
“Other Indian people must know that it is an option not to have children, and to ask your parents for an explanation as to why they gave birth to you,” Samuel said.

Although still small in number, India’s anti-natalist movement is growing at a steady pace and plans to set up a national-level organisation that works on spreading awareness about child-free living. Their arguments range from ethical ones to easing the strain on Earth’s resources or defying societal pressure.
“This is a completely voluntary, non-violent movement,” said Pratima Naik, a 28-year-old engineering graduate and one of the leaders of the anti-natalist movement. “We don’t want to impose our beliefs on anyone, but more people need to consider why having a child in the world right now isn’t right.”

Interestingly, India’s child-free movement consists mostly of highly educated, upper or middle-class people.

Child-free advocates have set up their own social media pages, some of which have gained traction. Samuel’s anti-natalist page is followed by nearly 400 people. Naik’s, called ‘Childfree India’ has nearly 100. Several others like ‘Childfree by Choice INDIA’ and ‘Childfree by Choice’ also have a following that page owners say is picking up.

In truth, young, urban Indians have been choosing not to have children for some years now, despite the stigma attached to it. But India’s emerging child-free movement seeks to ease the burden of that choice on individuals and couples by providing solidarity and support, while also advocating the end of procreation to “save the Earth”.

Source: The Print