By Omolola Olakunri

I recently read a post by someone who described himself as an antinatalist. His argument was simple:

“I did not ask to be born.”
No one sought my permission before bringing me into this world. Therefore, I refuse to work, strive, or apply myself.
I found the argument fascinating.

At this very moment, there are terminally ill patients praying for another sunrise. Some are willing to become guinea pigs for experimental drugs. Others wait anxiously on organ donor lists. Some, in desperation, would pay any price for an illegal transplant if it meant one more chance to live.
And yet, here is someone protesting the very fact of being alive.
So let us have an honest conversation.

The Consent Problem
“I didn’t consent to be born.”
The question is: when could that consent have been obtained?
In the womb?
How?
There was no conscious “you” yet.
At age three?
You were still discovering that fire burns.
At fifteen?
You were probably trying to figure out whether instant noodles counted as a balanced meal.
Consent requires a person capable of giving it. But the very existence of that person depends on life beginning before consent is even possible. You cannot ask a seed whether it wishes to become a tree. The tree exists only because the seed was planted.

The Real Argument
To be fair, many antinatalists are not merely complaining about inconvenience. They argue that bringing someone into a world full of suffering is morally questionable. Whether one agrees with that conclusion or not, it is a serious philosophical position.
But notice something else.
If someone had been born a crown prince, a trust-fund heir, or into unimaginable privilege, this conversation would probably sound very different.
That suggests the issue is often not consent itself.
It is disappointment.
It is pain.
It is the burden of responsibility in an imperfect world.
None of us chooses our starting conditions.
Some are born into wealth.
Some into poverty.
Some into loving homes.
Some into violence.
Some inherit healthy bodies.
Others inherit chronic illness or disability.
Life has never distributed equal starter packs.

Yet history is filled with people who transformed difficult beginnings into extraordinary lives. Stephen Hawking lived with ALS yet expanded humanity’s understanding of the universe. Cobhams Asuquo was born blind yet created music that has inspired millions.

Their stories do not erase suffering. They simply remind us that suffering is not always the final chapter.