accident of birth

Any and all particulars surrounding one's birth (physical characteristics, social background, and even nationality) that are considered a result of parentage and the specific circumstances of birth, and are therefore entirely out of one's control. My poverty when I was young was merely an accident of birth—through hard work and determination, I was able to overcome it and lead a successful life. Well, you can't choose your parents—that's an accident of birth as much as anything else. These kids do not deserve to spend their childhoods in a war-torn country—they're there simply through a sad accident of birth.