An Argument for Children

I just found a quote that answers crisply and exactly one of the common arguments for abortion and birth control.  Here is a passage from Pilgrim's Inn by Elizabeth Goudge.

"...You want children, don't you?"

The suddenness of this question startled him so much that he answered with equal suddenness, "With my heart and body - far more desperately than I can tell you.  With my mind - no.  What sort of world is this to bring them into?  That's another consideration that's holding me back."

"A very cowardly consideration, dear.  A mere shirking of responsibility.  It's a heavy responsibility, of course, a double one, responsibility for the children themselves and responsibility for the world they must live in.  But I know of no better incentive for the building of a decent world than the possession of children who must live in the world you've built."