Pre-Birth Consent and the Moral Status of Procreation

This paper introduces the Birth Consent System (BCS), a proposed ethical framework that challenges both natalism and antinatalism by offering a third position. The central question is: Why is consent considered essential in medical procedures, sexual relations, and contractual agreements, yet birth—perhaps the most irreversible and risk-laden act—is the sole exception? Grounded in contemporary consent ethics, the essay argues that birth is morally permissible only if the future individual can, in some form, consent to their coming into existence. BCS provides a normative foundation for evaluating the moral legitimacy of procreation in light of this principle.