Few things are more mundane than becoming a parent. One, or one’s partner, gives birth to a child; one takes the baby home, if birthing happened in a hospital, or simply keeps the baby and raises her. Except for philosophers and the odd anarchist, hardly anybody wonders whether those who bring children into the world should have the legal right to also bring them up, and if yes, for what reason. But philosophers like riddles, and this very mundane process raises one: Parental status comes with a great deal of legal control over a particularly vulnerable human being, and states grant it automatically to procreators, with no preliminary checks. Surely, people in general very much want to raise their offspring. A child, however, is a person (in the making), that is, not someone who may be used as mere means to advance other people’s projects. One may exercise control over a person either with their permission—not the case with newborns!—or because it is in the best interest of the person whose life is controlled. If …