Agriculture Reference
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are, but also as to who exists. Parfit points this out with the example of
the 14-year-old girl:
The 14-year-old Girl: A 14-year-old girl has a baby. The baby has a diffi-
cult start in life and therefore also some problems later on in its life. So
her child has a somewhat diminished quality of life overall, but a life
that is still overall pleasant. Had the 14-year-old girl waited several years
before becoming pregnant, she would have been able to give her baby a
better start in life and her child would have a better life overall.
1
If one assumes that one's personal identity depends at least in part on
the genetic material of which one is made and takes into account that
sperm (and eggs) have short lives, it follows that the time of conception
is relevant for who exactly will exist. In the example, the girl would have
a different child, growing from different sperm and egg, if she delayed
conception. Therefore, it seems impossible to condemn the 14-year-old
girl for having the child with reference to the interests or the welfare
of the child. After all, the child has a pleasant life, and if the girl had
waited, this child would not exist at all.
Here is another case that illustrates the Non-Identity Problem, let us
call it the case of the Two Women:
Two women plan to become pregnant. Woman A is already pregnant
when she receives good and bad news. The bad news is that her child
will be born with a defect that will lower its quality of life, although
it will still be able to have a worthwhile life. The good news is that
the woman can take a pill to cure this defect. Woman B gets good
and bad news when she is about to stop with contraception. The bad
news is that she has a medical condition that will result in a child
with a defect that will lower its quality of life, just as serious as that,
which woman A's child would have if she would not take the pill.
The good news is that woman B will have a healthy baby if she waits
three months before becoming pregnant.
2
It seems that in order to do the best thing for her child, woman A should
take the pill in order to have a healthy baby. Likewise, woman B should
wait three months in order to have a healthy baby. However, the differ-
ence is that by taking the pill woman A would make her child (not yet
born, but already existing in her womb) better off. Woman B, per contrast,
would not benefit any baby. By delaying conception, she would have a
different baby than she would otherwise have had. The Person-Affecting
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