John Beck is Martha Beck's husband. John was a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard when he learned his wife was expecting their second child. John accepted this news with some trepidation, especially since he had recently accepted a consulting job that would require him to travel to Asia frequently. Midway through Ms. Beck's pregnancy, John asked her if she would abort the baby if they learned it suffered from birth defects. At Ms. Beck's outright refusal, John argued with her, expressing the opinion that it was their responsibility as parents to end a pregnancy that would result in a defective child. Ms. Beck argued that it was her choice and she was already attached to their unborn baby and would not consent to an abortion. John continued to argue until he heard a voice that told him he should keep the baby.