Pregnancy is (Currently, in the US) Too Big of a Gamble

Clarifying and further arguing for my feminist anti-natalism

Phew. I’ve rarely had such a big reaction to something I’ve written. In my previous post, I argued for a feminist anti-natalism in the US currently, on the grounds that the package deal of pregnancy and early childrearing, especially with a male partner, is currently an intolerably bad deal for many if not most people contemplating it. There were some caveats: some women, and other people who can get pregnant, will want a child so badly—and may need to have one soon, for a variety of reasons—that their desires will rightly silence the considerations I adduce in favor of refraining for the time being. That seems to me entirely proper: it’s your life, and your body, and I believe that, ultimately, your autonomous desires should trump rational argumentation. For that reason, I was careful to specify the audience I was addressing: people who can, or at least presume they can, get pregnant, and who are currently on the fence about, or leaning against, having biological children. But they feel guilty—or are being guilt-tripped about missing out on something vital, or not doing their moral duty.

Fuck that.