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[epione]

My boyfriend just sent me this article. What do you all think of it?

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More people making the decision to not have childrenNovember 1, 2011 11:11:46

Comments

[bunn]

Well, she is a doctor. They tend to be pretty career-focussed people.

Which I suppose is the point - presumably they are interviewing her because she's written a book and wants to plug it, and they have a story and want someone to talk about it. But I don't see that a doctor has any special insight into not making the decision to have a child. That's (for many people) a social decision, not a medical one.

Comments on the terrifying growth of the world population from, say, climate scientists, biologists, urban planners, healthcare managers, sanitation engineers, carers, volunteers, writers and artists might well be more interesting and would certainly be more diverse...

I reckon really it should be a decision to HAVE a child, not a decision not to. Not to should be the default option, then people who really want children and have thought carefully about the impact that will have on their lives, and how they will give the kids a wonderful start in life should ideally be the ones making decisions to go ahead.

I have no idea why mothering should be an alternative to a career. I know some great mothers who do both remarkably well: personally, I am neither a mother nor a careerist, and don't want to be. I definitely don't feel my life is empty! It is ridiculous to pose it as an either/or.