Jesse–well, if you think about it, three generations of imbeciles are enough, aren’t they? Just kidding. I’m just making a general point, and of course realize how flawed the state’s courts are. The general point is that you can incur a positive moral and legal obligation to a child by procreative actions, and that I side with the child, whom I view as the victim, rather than deadbeat parents.

I will say that although you are right that state courts are likely to abuse their power over deadbeat dads, there’s an easy way to avoid being ensnared in that net. Namely, don’t be a deadbeat dad. Just because it’s unwise to empower state courts to decide such matters does not mean the deadbeat dad deserves sympathy. The state is not the only malfeasor on the block.At least I’m resisting the temptation to favor criminalizing fornication among the unemployed.

BTW I used to oppose my home state’s regime of forced heirship, whereby you must leave part of your estate to your children; you cannot disinherit them except for a few enumerated reasons (some funny or antequated, such as (6) The child, being a minor, has married without the consent of the parent. (8) The child, after attaining the age of majority and knowing how to contact the parent, has failed to communicate with the parent without just cause for a period of two years, unless the child was on active duty in any of the military forces of the United States at the time). The Louisiana Constitution was amended a few years back to provide that forced heirship only lasts till the kid is 23 years old, but still, the idea behind it is that the parent has a positive obligation to care for the child he brings into the world. Louisiana also has the covenant marriage which bugs libertines and liberals.

CODA: a reader writes:

Stephan, I am with you in your anger. If this guy has a right to dump his children off on the welfare system, then I should have a right as a taxpayer to make him stop producing more of them. It’s no different than the EPA stopping polluters.

PS, Of course, this view only makes sense if you believe he has a right to produce children to be raised at taxpayer expense, which I contend he certainly should not. Ahem.

The Best of Stephan Kinsella

I would have to object with any assertion that the state should ban anyone from having children. While I would argue that fathers do have an absolute moral obligation to care for their children, I would not seek the vicissitudes of some “lower court” of the state to enforce it.

On this site, Wendy McElroy has shown just how effective and just the state is in dealing with deadbeat dads.

Knowing how creative the state is in using its tools of tyranny, the state will find ways to ban the reproductive efforts of more than just deadbeat dads. And as far as enforcement of such a ban is concerned, I don’t want to think about what kind of vile instruments and tactics the state would have in store.

The Best of Casey Khan