Introduction

Historically, the vast majority of human societies have been strongly 'pro-natalist'. These societies socially validate and materially incentivize biological reproduction, while their legal systems accord procreation the status of a basic right, a liberty that authorities could only infringe or deny under very limited circumstances. Simultaneous to the emergence of procreative ethics has been a growth in interest in the ethics of parenthood, and in particular, in the nature and extent of parental rights. In "The Compensatory Basis of Procreative Parental Rights", Michael Cholbi proposes that the bridge between procreation on the one hand and parental rights and obligations on the other is compensatory. In "Parental Licensing and Pregnancy as a Form of Education", Christine Overall explores the general position that all prospective parents should be licensed. Liberals of all stripes are united in their commitment to the view that personal freedom is normatively basic; any interference in an individual's liberty stands in need of justification.