Licensing parents Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Licensing parents - Essay Example He, additionally, asserts that if there is a reliable procedure to in vetting parents then licensing should be the way to go. He argues that parents have the potential of causing grave harm to their children both physically and psychologically. He explains that annually hundreds of thousands of children are physically abused while others are neglected. Such treatment by parents remains as scars both physical and psychological for the rest of the children’s lives. Such children end up engaging in criminal activities and even proceed to harm their children as well and thus end up as unhappy adults (Lafollette 523). This explanation means that parenting can cause harm and thus qualifies as a licensable activity. When talking about violating the rights or freedoms of others in licensing parenting, Lafollette uses human sacrifice and slander to explain. He states that people have the freedom of speech and expression but this freedom is limited to things like slander where the latter violates the right of the victim. The same goes for human sacrifices which are religious practices not covered by the first amendment where there is freedom of worship. He further asserts that having children, by itself, it not a right but a responsibility bestowed on both parents. When this responsibility is neglected or exercised carelessly then the right of the parents ceases to exist. Therefore, when parents are able to prove their ability to procreate without violating the rights of others, then they should be licensed to proceed. The procedure to vet future harmless parents may not be foolproof and will end up resulting in the same issues that the license aimed to avert. It is easy to question how a test for parenting competence can be formulated so as to be reliable. One of the mistakes Lafollette makes is to casually compare a potentially controversial issue; licensing parenting to others that are not at all controversial; licensing driving and people to practice medicine among