As a young woman, at the prime age of child bearing, I often get asked about my aspirations to have kids. Every wedding or family gathering I get, “So are you seeing anyone? When are you planning to get married? Aren’t you so excited to have little ones?” If by little ones you mean dogs…. Then yes I’m so excited. But it is inherently ingrained that with womanhood comes motherhood. And when my response is “well, I’m not really interested in having kids,” my middle aged aunts with toddlers grasping at their pant legs gasp with surprise. But why should we be so surprised that a young, college educated woman doesn’t want children? Isn’t that the more responsible choice?
Dr. Travis Reider, a prominent academic and bioethicist at Johns Hopkins University has the right idea. But just as my decision to not want children is almost offensive to my family, his suggestions have not been happily accepted by the academic community. Not only is it terrifying to think of bringing a sweet innocent child into a world wracked by violence, gender inequality, Trump supporters, bullying, extreme income inequality and selfies…. But it’s entirely irresponsible! Some academics warn that our planet can only sustain 5 to 8 billion. So that means that we have surpassed and are approaching over capacity at 7.1 billion currently.
The one topic that brings everyone together is the value of the family. And of course it would. Reproducing brings people onto the planet and into the workforce. It’s good for business. But what’s worse is the quickly deteriorating state of our planet. Unfortunately, staying quiet on the most obvious issue of overpopulation is dangerous, but when one speaks out, it’s condemned.
“In fact, I would argue that it is more ‘anti-life’ to prioritize creating new life over caring for, or even not harming, those who already exist.”
This makes total sense. The truth is, climate change is the biggest threat to humanity. The increase in greenhouse gases, the melting of the icecaps and rising sea levels, rapidly increasing surface temperatures, indefinite droughts, water shortages, our crippling reliance on oil and gas, overwhelming storms and typhoons, destruction of ancient forests, extinction of majestic animals...the list goes on. Dr. Reider calls for
“the world to adopt a ‘small family ethic’, going as far as ‘pursuing fertility reduction efforts’ in a defense against climate change.”
The notion of having smaller families or no children at all doesn’t compromise the earthling values of the family in it’s entirety. But preserves our compassion for human life, by making an effort to protect what we have now on this precious planet we call Earth. Plus, dogs are waaayyyy cooler than babies. Please spay and neuter your pets :)
Editor’s note: Catch me on Facebook five years from now posting pictures of my white picket fence and 2.5 kids. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
http://metro.co.uk/2016/09/25/if-you-want-to-stop-global-warming-stop-having-kids-academic-says-6152311/
http://www.therooster.com/blog/10-brutally-real-reasons-why-millennials-refuse-have-kids
Great, great article. Nothing irks me more than being asked of future plans to have a family. Young women are going to top-tier universities to become the educated leaders of the world. Being a mother is a beautiful journey and arduous task, it's not for everyone. If one doesn't want to have a family, then dont! It's more irresponsible to bring another person into the world if it's not for you, or if you don't have the resources or a better life to offer that new person.
ReplyDeleteShows like 16 and Counting drive me bonkers. It is completely irresponsible to have so many kids in this political, economic, and environmental culture. The first thing that comes to mind is obviously the financial burden that putting multiple children through college (and life in general) puts on parents (or a single parent). The truth, however, is that large families are more prevalent among poorer, less educated communities whose children will not likely attend college. A big reason for this is lack of sexual education. Families that haven't grown up with proper understanding of contraceptives, whether for religious reasons or socio-economic reasons, wouldn't know how to make these responsible decisions until it's too late.
ReplyDeleteIt's also interesting to see how anti-abortionists play into this issue. I wonder how many of them are willing to adopt the children that these women are forced to give birth to and later abandon.