There are way too many children on Earth – of course people do not have the right to have as many children as they want, says John. Our Earth is suffering under the weight of all these humans! So, asks Ken, is John proposing that we just let humanity slowly die out? Thankfully, John does not advocate for human extinction. However, he does think that Earth’s population has to be managed somehow. But just how? John brings up China’s One Child Policy. But China is a brutal totalitarian dictatorship – you could not pull that thing off in a democracy like the U.S. How about a model like Japan’s? Ken says that Japan has suffered tremendously in economic terms. John then talks about teenage birth rates, adoption, public shaming, and higher taxes. But the question of interfering in a rational person’s life still stands.

John and Ken welcome guest Sarah Conly, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Bowdoin College and author ofOne Child: Do We Have a Right to More?Sarah explains that she became interested in this topic because of its contemporary relevance: every day we read about new environmental disasters for which overpopulation is the primary cause. John proposes a hypothetical: how could one persuade a rational couple who want to have a second child not to have that child? Sarah would say: 1) think about the life that second child will have when the expectation is that there will be 9.7 billion people in the world by 2050. 2) Think about other people in this painful situation. 3) Think about yourself. Ken is still concerned. The decision to have kids is not a calculation of the global well-being; rather, it is an intensely personal choice. How do global, abstract considerations stand up against emotional, intimate ones? Sarah responds that personal decisions are not just personal. They have global impact; to think otherwise is just selfish.

肯说人们有权自己决定身体完整性的问题。莎拉会对一个大喊“管好你自己的子宫”的女人说什么呢?萨拉会说这个女人没有这样的权利，因为她的选择会对其他人产生影响。一项权利受外部因素的限制。我们有言论自由的权利，但没有喊“着火了!”因为后者是有害的。但是，约翰想知道，这是否适用于这样一个情况，一个人的决定是否要孩子在统计上无足轻重?萨拉说，我们需要跨社会的协调;我们可以通过教育，激励措施，比如避孕，或者法律来建立。肯想知道我们是否不得不放弃自由生育的权利。萨拉说，控制我们自己身体的权利在一定程度上就是控制它的权利。 It is not unlimited. Ken questions whether the mere shifting of burden is a harm. Sarah explains why it depends on the weight of the burden.

Sarah, John, and Ken then debate potential methods of population control. Sarah explains why she is not a fan of shame as such a method. We could instead educate people about sex, about population. There are misconceptions, such as the global fertility rate, that lead people to think there is no problem, when in fact that could not be further from the truth. They welcome questions from the audience, and they continue the discussion by considering points such as whether it is worthwhile to have a board of health that one could petition to have a second child. Generally, the questions debated ask: is having a children a right, a privilege, or a great moral wrong?

• Roving Philosophical Report(Seek to 6:42): Shuka Kalantari speaks with a woman who has six kids and a man who went to great lengths not to have children at all because of concerns over resource consumption and overpopulation.
  
• 60-Second Philosopher(Seek to 46:35): Ian Shoales talks delegating responsibilities among siblings.