Don't want a baby because of climate concerns? You are not alone

A commentary for the Washington Post by Peggy O'Donnell Heffington, a professor of history at the University of Chicago, begins: “As a college professor, I'm used to hearing the anxiety and even the anger of young people about climate change. One of the most striking trends is the number of students who tell me they feel robbed of the opportunity to have children, cheated out of parenthood by decades of climate denial and inaction by baby boomers and their own Gen X parents.” He continues, “My students are not alone. A 2021 global survey of 10,000 16- to 25-year-olds shows just how widespread these feelings are.” He writes: “But choosing not to have children in the face of crisis is nothing new. In fact, this impulse can be traced not only to our human ancestors, but also beyond the boundaries of the human species... For centuries, reproductive decisions have been constrained by the economic, material and environmental conditions of humans. O'Donnell Heffington concludes: "If policymakers and politicians want to encourage young people to become parents—and it seems they do a lot—history suggests there is a better path than the one pursued by too many of them: repealing our right on reproductive autonomy, making access to contraception more difficult and abortion a crime. Instead, they should convince us that climate change is being taken seriously as a threat—that the environment we and our children must live in is in good, capable, rational hands.” (Peggy O'Donnell Heffington, The Washington Post)