# What would you sacrifice your child for? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 30, 2009, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-sacrifice-your-child-for/483714 "2009-01-30T14:46:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![martu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@martu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/martu)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-sacrifice-your-child-for/483714/1 "2009-01-30T14:46:35Z")
A recent pit thread bought up the idea that the Christian God by virtue of sacrificing his Son was giving us a ‘gift’. I have heard this idea many times before. So my question to you is what, if anything, would you sacrifice your own child for? For the record I wouldn’t sacrifice my daughter for anything and I apologise if that makes me seems a bit selfish. The only life I feel I am able to sacrifice at all is my own and there are very few scenarios, very few (if any) of these likely, when I would do that. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-sacrifice-your-child-for/483714/2 "2009-01-30T14:54:10Z")
I just have two brief comments. First, this should have been posted to IMHO since this is a poll/request for opinion. Second, watch Sophie’s Choice. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-sacrifice-your-child-for/483714/3 "2009-01-30T15:01:20Z")
Nothing whatsoever. I already lost a baby daughter and I know what it feels like. Either of my daughters versus the entire population of China? Bye China, it’s been real and I wouldn’t feel any remorse about the decision. The hardest one would be one of my daughters versus my entire extended family. Most of them have already lived much of their lives so they have to go as well. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-sacrifice-your-child-for/483714/4 "2009-01-30T15:24:14Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Either of my daughters versus the entire population of China? Bye China, Yep. Sorry to say but when THE most important thing in my life is my son, he pretty much trumps anything else out there. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-sacrifice-your-child-for/483714/5 "2009-01-30T15:48:32Z")
Moved from General Questions to In My Humble Opinion. **Gfactor** General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-sacrifice-your-child-for/483714/6 "2009-01-30T15:57:02Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Either of my daughters versus the entire population of China? Bye China Agreed. I never signed up to be responsible for China. Even leaving aside all the purely selfish reasons I have for not sacrificing her, my daughter IS my responsibility, and to quote Buffy, if my choice not to sacrifice her means the end of the world “then the last thing she’ll see is me protecting her”. ---
**Author:** ![martu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@martu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/martu)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-sacrifice-your-child-for/483714/7 "2009-01-30T16:06:14Z")
Sorry for posting in the wrong forum. ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-sacrifice-your-child-for/483714/8 "2009-01-30T16:13:58Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > Agreed. I never signed up to be responsible for China. Even leaving aside all the purely selfish reasons I have for not sacrificing her, my daughter IS my responsibility, and to quote Buffy, if my choice not to sacrifice her means the end of the world “then the last thing she’ll see is me protecting her”. I agree with this. My son is the most important thing to me right now. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-sacrifice-your-child-for/483714/9 "2009-01-30T16:18:02Z")
We did this once before and I specified a willingness to sacrifice Australia. [Here’s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=457872&highlight=australia)the original thread. [Here’s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=457872&highlight=australia) the thread where I got pitted for saying it. FTR, I haven’t changed my position. If it would require the sacrifice of China instead, I’m cool with that. ---
**Author:** ![martu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@martu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/martu)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-sacrifice-your-child-for/483714/10 "2009-01-30T16:28:42Z")
Thanks for the thread links, I did try to search but the database kept hanging. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-sacrifice-your-child-for/483714/11 "2009-01-30T16:47:08Z")
Sorry about the incorrect link. [Here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=458059&highlight=australia) is the Pit thread. ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-sacrifice-your-child-for/483714/12 "2009-01-30T16:52:33Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > We did this once before and I specified a willingness to sacrifice Australia. [Here’s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=457872&highlight=australia)the original thread. [Here’s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=457872&highlight=australia) the thread where I got pitted for saying it. > FTR, I haven’t changed my position. If it would require the sacrifice of China instead, I’m cool with that. I think the difference is that people here are not willing to sacrifice their child to save a country, but in that thread you said you would take out all of Australia to save your daughter. Not giving up your kid to save someone else is different than killing someone else to save your kid. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-sacrifice-your-child-for/483714/13 "2009-01-30T17:00:26Z")
Works out the same either way. Either my daughter lives or a continent full funny-sounding mulletheads lives. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-sacrifice-your-child-for/483714/14 "2009-01-30T17:05:31Z")
How about if you have more than one kid, sacrificing one child to prevent the death of both/all of your children? Someone says “pick a kid to die, or I’ll kill your entire family.” I guess I could do that - tho I imagine it would be incredibly tough to live with myself afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-sacrifice-your-child-for/483714/15 "2009-01-30T17:11:57Z")
> [@pbbth](#): > > I think the difference is that people here are not willing to sacrifice their child to save a country, but in that thread you said you would take out all of Australia to save your daughter. Not giving up your kid to save someone else is different than killing someone else to save your kid. Sorry, but those appear to me to be essentially identical. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-sacrifice-your-child-for/483714/16 "2009-01-30T17:14:11Z")
> [@martu](#): > > A recent pit thread bought up the idea that the Christian God by virtue of sacrificing his Son was giving us a ‘gift’. I have heard this idea many times before. So my question to you is what, if anything, would you sacrifice your own child for? > > For the record I wouldn’t sacrifice my daughter for anything and I apologise if that makes me seems a bit selfish. The only life I feel I am able to sacrifice at all is my own and there are very few scenarios, very few (if any) of these likely, when I would do that. \*\*Sophie’s Choice \*\*had this very issue. She did it. She made the most horrible decision a parent could face, but she did it. (I’ll add that if I had to face that, I’d probably have to take myself out at the first opportunity.) ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-sacrifice-your-child-for/483714/17 "2009-01-30T17:35:41Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Sorry, but those appear to me to be essentially identical. One is passively allowing someone to come to harm. The other is actively causing harm yourself. I think there’s a pretty clear difference. FTR, I don’t have a kid. The closest I have to that sort of love is my husband, who I would die trying to protect, but I wouldn’t kill a single innocent person to save his life. I doubt I would kill an innocent person to save my own. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-sacrifice-your-child-for/483714/18 "2009-01-30T17:39:45Z")
I don’t think there is a difference that matters. Are the Australians or Chinese less dead either way? ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-sacrifice-your-child-for/483714/19 "2009-01-30T17:45:21Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > One is passively allowing someone to come to harm. The other is actively causing harm yourself. I think there’s a pretty clear difference. \*Choosing \*to allow the deaths \*isn’t \*passive. And I’m pretty sure that any moral difference between “passively allowance” of harm and “actively causing” harm is a comforting illusion. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-sacrifice-your-child-for/483714/20 "2009-01-30T17:50:11Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > I don’t think there is a difference that matters. Are the Australians or Chinese less dead either way? Just to be clear - are we just talking people, or pandas and kangaroos as well? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-sacrifice-your-child-for/483714.md?page=2)