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If one's first responsibility is to one's genetic legacy (as you suggest) then having any child that is biologically yours is better than having no child, at least from the point of view of your own self-interest.
The problem in this case isn't necessarily that desperate women use donor sperm for one last roll of the dice, it's that they could probably still find someone decent who is amenable to an actual family.
Correct, my perspective is not that such a person should never have a child, it's that they should fix themselves and then have a child.
There are some things that are more or less unfixable, many of which are no one's fault. Physical deformity which is mostly cosmetic is the clearest example of that. There's only so much that even the best plastic and reconstructive surgeons can do, in many cases.
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Decide where you want the ambulances. At least if you're a dude.
What's Eating Gilbert Grape isn't all that bad. I've seen fairly well-put-together people that came out of environments like that. Past that, however...I think you are leaving aside the very real fact that maybe ten percent of people are bad fits for marriage and children. Some of that is their fault, some of it isn't. Things like paranoid schizophrenia or intellectual disability make things very hard indeed. It's like the US military...they reject around 10 percent of people for not having the cognitive or intellectual horsepower to be good janitors or cooks. On the other hand, I've known people that had parents that sucked as human beings - drug addicts, attempted murder, physical abuse - that still turned out OK, so maybe. That is a hell of a compromise to make, though, and I wouldn't blame someone for deciding to remain single rather than be with someone who's 450 pounds, has multiple health problems at 28, and walks with a cane. Or who uses lots of drugs. Or who is straight up psychotic and refuses to acknowledge that she's pregnant. Maybe you can build a life with someone like that, too, but it's playing on nightmare mode.
If you're a woman, it's a bit easier - you're likely to be with someone you're not attracted to (at least initially) but don't have to watch your kids watch someone die to entirely preventable causes. If you're OK with a short guy you can get a guy that's built like a Greek god, or one that makes six figures and is a basically decent guy, even if you're 300 pounds. You don't have to settle for abusive shitbags or drug users. Go to Silicon Valley and you might be able to find a literal millionaire.
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