Contributing genetic information and some parenting can be a net positive even if the parent is ultimately absent (for whatever reasons).

Take the extreme case of a parent who disappears just after the child's birth. The other parent may still be thankful to have the child, and the child may still be a credit to society.

Is the disappearing parent a good parent? Not really. Should he/she have never had the child, as you suggest? Well, that's up to the child, really.

I.e. it's hard to fault your parents for making you, whether they're good parents or not.

Do you have kids? It's relevant because I used to make arguments like yours until I had a child and realized how much more nuanced these arguments actually are.

I salute them.

Now could we please get the hell out of their personal decisions? Seriously. I'm not comfortable with HN acting as if they're entitled to judge his and her choices. I doubt any of us would want our community to judge ours.

That's easily refuted -- it depends on how flawed.

Talk to some kids who have been abused, abandoned or had debilitatingly mentally ill parents.

Compare with kids whose parents divorced or who lost a parent to disease.