Is not having children selfish, a ‘moral failing’? Anti-natalists explain why it’s an ethical choice
Childlessness is often viewed as selfish and a sign of self-centered cultures.
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In the first few days after Donald Trump’s election in November 2024, purchases of emergency contraceptives spiked, with two companies reporting sales about 1,000% higher than the preceding week. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood reported a 760% increase in appointments for IUDs the day after his win.
Many Americans are fearful that the incoming administration could further curb reproductive rights, 2½ years after the US Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion. Today, roughly one-third of states ban the procedure almost entirely or after the first six weeks of pregnancy – before many women and girls realise that they’re pregnant.
Several nominees for Trump’s second administration oppose abortion rights. But some of his allies have suggested that not having children is itself a moral failing.
In a 2019 speech, for example, Vice President-elect JD Vance said that people “become more attached to their communities, to their families, to their country because they have children”. In 2021, he tweeted that low birth rates “have made many elites sociopaths.” During a Trump rally in 2024, Arkansas Gov Sarah Huckabee Sanders said her children are a “permanent reminder of what’s important” and “keep me humble.” Kamala Harris – who has two stepchildren, but no biological children – “doesn’t have anything keeping her humble”, Sanders said.
Beyond politics, many people hold similar views. People from New York Times columnist...
