Sins of the Fathers: War Rape, Wrongful Procreation, and Children's Human Rights

This essay considers the contentious and practically important question of whether children born of war rape and forced impregnation can and should be conceived as having their human rights violated by their rapist-fathers. It takes up both conceptual issues and pragmatic considerations related to this important question. I argue that the conceptual obstacles to talking about rapist-fathers violating the human rights of their children can be overcome and that we can usefully conceive the wrong done by them as wrongful procreation, a violation of a child's right to enjoy rights. Moreover, I argue that recognizing these rights and wrongs is urgently necessary and can have a positive practical effect on the lives of war-rape children.