Review : Why children?

25 January 1997

Kids these days. They’re nothing but trouble. Especially to a bioethicist. In
The Worth of a Child (University of California, $29.95, available in
Britain in February, ISBN 0 520 08836 0), Thomas Murray explores the complex web
of parent-child relationships, asking why adults have children or adopt them,
and what moral obligations they have towards them. Murray also looks at genetic
prenatal testing and abortion from all sides. Light reading it isn’t, but
moments of illumination make the effort of following some dense, abstract
discussions worthwhile.