W.T. Stead on sex & children (Jan. 20, 1889)

I stand at the point of one of the most momentous, perhaps the most momentous of all human acts, the begetting of a new soul. Poor little creature yet unconceived. Why do I have to face the frightful responsibility of saying that thou shall be? Because it would seem God hath need of thee. I did not intend thee to be born. I have brought five into the battlefield and I thought five is enough. But it would seem that I was mistaken. All my five have grown up well. The youngest is five. Happier children I never knew. Life to them has been a gift of joy. So far they have had no reason to curse me for begetting them. Now God seems to want another soldier..