We have no criterion at our disposal for saying whether a wanted child will be happy or whether au unwanted child will be poorly loved or unhappy. There are many unforeseen children who are well loved; there is no lack of wanted children who are unhappy. Child abusers desire children.
Furthermore, we must remark that, even if he or she is wanted, the child who survives always runs a risk, indeed innumerable risks, from his parents and from society. How can we forget that a child wanted before his birth can be perceived as undesirable once he is born, whether because of his development (delinquency, for example), or whether because of a change in his parents (disagreement, for example).
Thus, education for acceptance is needed.
b) Let us add that within a few months of pregnancy, the mother’s psychology almost always changes from vexation to acceptance, and from acceptance to love. The desire for a child isn’t fixed at the stage when he takes form at the beginning of pregnancy; it progresses, it matures. Probably, we were not all wanted; but most are sure that they were welcomed.
Moreover, the natural structure for acceptance of a child is the united couple, where two human beings constitute a family, that is to say, they form a project that involves duration, fidelity, and trust, in order to face the unforeseen together. An entire climate has developed in society which, all too often, dissuades a couple from planning and procreating, or makes a couple that has children feel guilty.
BACK TO "THE UNBORN CHILD"
|
TABLE OF CONTENTS
|
NEXT QUESTION
