An Indian man has decided to sue his parents for giving birth to him without his consent as he insists that he didn’t ask to be born. Raphael Samuel, a 27-year-old businessman from Mumbai, says that it’s not a baby’s “decision to be born” though he acknowledges it would be impossible for an unborn child to give its consent to come into the world, BBC News reports.
- Samuel believes children should be paid to be born. Since a baby can’t give its consent to come into this world, it’s only fair that the parents who force life upon it should have to pay it to go through the trials and tribulations of life. After all, there’s a lot of pain and heartache as well as joy to experience, and Samuel believes those responsible for creating the life should have to finance the experience.
- His parents are actually taking the whole thing pretty well. Both of Samuel’s parents are lawyers and instead of being distraught by “the recent upheaval my son has created,” they’re actually taking it in their stride. “I must admire my son’s temerity to want to take his parents to court knowing both of us are lawyers. And if Raphael could come up with a rational explanation as to how we could have sought his consent to be born, I will accept my fault,” said his mother Kavita Karnad Samuel.
- Samuel is an anti-natalist. The movement, which is increasingly popular in India, is rooted in the belief that life is so crappy that everyone should stop having children to save them from the misery of living. Bleak, yes, but there is some logic in it, especially since it would be better for the planet in the long run. “There’s no point to humanity. So many people are suffering. If humanity is extinct, Earth and animals would be happier. They’ll certainly be better off. Also no human will then suffer. Human existence is totally pointless,” he explained.
- He’s held these beliefs since he was a small child. Samuel tells the BBC that he was about five years old when he first had anti-natalist thoughts, and his convictions only grew over the years. “I was a normal kid. One day I was very frustrated and I didn’t want to go to school but my parents kept asking me to go. So I asked them: ‘Why did you have me?’ And my dad had no answer. I think if he’d been able to answer, maybe I wouldn’t have thought this way,” he said.
- Many people are concerned for Samuel’s mental health. While his parents see the logic in his argument, many who have heard his story worry that he may be feeling this way because he suffers from mental health issues such as depression. “Some argue logically, some are offended and some are offensive,” he explained of the responses he’s received online. “To those abusing me, let them abuse me. But I also hear from many who say they support me but can’t say this publicly for whatever reasons. I ask them to come out and speak up.” He added: “I wish I was not born. But it’s not that I’m unhappy in my life. My life is good, but I’d rather not be here. You know it’s like there’s a nice room, but I don’t want to be in that room.”
