Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Meet the Woman Who Won't Have Babies

This link http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=495495&in_page_id=1879&in_page_id=1879&expand=true#StartComments will take you to an article about a woman who had herself sterilized to help 'save the planet'; and, while my antinatalist stance isn't primarily motivated by environmental concerns, I'll take my allies where I can get them.

Anyway, the reason I've posted this is to direct your attention to the 'comments' section of the article. Here's my favorite:

"How bizarre to say babies 'pollute the planet'! Surely by this logic you ought to commit suicide for the benefit of the planet.What is the point of saving the planet if there's nobody to save it for? And what a miserable, squalid and agonizing old age we'd all have if nobody had any children to provide the next generation of doctors, wheelchair pushers and bin men!I think the eco-argument is an excuse."- Emily, London UK

Once upon a time, we used to throw our children into volcanos in order to insure a good harvest, health for the tribe, etc. The only difference I see between that circumstance and the general pro-natalist philosophy as expressed above is, nowadays we expect them to feed, clothe, and carry us on their way to the volcano.