In countries with public healthcare should there be a limit on how many children one can have? Health

I’m sure this is a very controversial topic, but I started thinking about it this afternoon while making myself a sandwich. I have mixed emotions on this. Personally I feel like those that want to have children should only replicate themselves, so a couple would have 2 children, a single person only one. I don’t have any children myself, although when I was younger I very much wanted children, now I’m over it. If you are willing to adopt, maybe it’s ok to have more...

My thinking is in countries that do have public healthcare, it puts an undue burden on the system if people are having 3,4,5 or more kids. I know it seems draconian, and I’m not even sure I would support this, but in our overcrowded world, with healthcare costs going up and up, it seems selfish and unwise to overly procreate.

I never liked the Chinese law only allowing one child, although I think they’ve loosened this restriction. I’m sure some religions would have a problem with this, as widespread birth control would be needed, as well as extensive and early sex education. Also abortion would have to be legal and easily available. But why should I have to help fund healthcare for someone’s children who just keep having them. And I am completely for public healthcare, something that is sorely lacking in my country. This Coronavirus is really showing how we very much need public healthcare for all in the US, but it seems unfair to have to fund healthcare for a family that just keeps having more and more children.

Thoughts....

I don’t really think it should, or even could, be mandated how many children people can have, but I do wish people would use a little more common sense, and honesty, IMO, not be so selfish as to how many children they create on an already overly populated planet. It taxes everything, how much food needs to be produced, more fossil fuels are used, more healthcare needs, more, more more...

OK, you asked for thoughts and these are mine, for what they are worth.

It is not just funding healthcare and all the other taxes - when I was working I obviously paid all income tax/National Insurance etc according to my income, and even though my only income now is my state disability pension I still have to pay the same Health Fund fees as a non-working married woman.

Municipality taxes, which pay for schools, roads, and all other public facilities are charged by the square metre area of your dwelling, not including yards but including balconies and a proportion of stairwells in apartment blocks.

Fair enough - live in a big house, pay more. But I have to pay exactly the same amount for sewerage as a person who has a large family, even though I live alone, and there are some quite large families on this Moshav.

But Marc - you cannot enforce birth control on anyone, let alone on everyone. You might just as well say that a household is only allowed to own one car...

...and one pet.​

The world is definitely overpopulated, with many people who have large families in effect living off the state. Having said that, I wouldn't like to see laws that restricted the number of dogs or children that you could have.