It's interesting to me that this thread got resurrected now, mostly because it's an issue I'm once again thinking about on a regular basis...

Anyway, I recently read the book Why Have Kids? by Jessica Valenti. She's a mother herself, but the book has a fairly negative take on the whole having kids thing. She gives you plenty of reasons NOT to have kids. I never really felt like she answered the question in the title. Either way, I did find it interesting to read.