Not having any children is a concept that says that procreation is wrong or giving birth to a child in such a bad world is wrong.
By Aiswarya Sriram
Bangalore, March 12, 2019.
An organization in Bangalore called Child-Free urges people NOT to reproduce anymore. It recently had its all India meet in Bangalore. The organization is planning to have another protest in Bangalore soon. In it, parents who have children and have now realized that they shouldn’t have had kids will participate – some with their children. They claim that being childless is a solution to a better world. The organization promotes an idea called anti-natalism.
Anti-natalism is an idea that says that procreation is wrong, or giving birth to a child in such a bad world is wrong. It was founded by South African philosopher David Benatar. It believes that humans should stop reproducing, which will ultimately reduce the suffering undergone by humans.
In one of his books, Prof. Benatar mentions that “Coming into existence is always serious harm, that procreation is always wrong, and that it is wrong not to abort foetuses at the earlier stages of gestation.”
The idea of anti-natalism came into the picture in the last decade and since then it has gained worldwide attention. Anti-natalism doesn’t support suicide; it just says that humans should become extinct. There is also a concept called EFILism which is actually the word life written backwards. It considers not only human suffering but also animals and other living beings in the world. So it claims that there should be no life on earth.
Anugraha Sharma, who is one of the members of the Child-Free organization states, “It will definitely bring a change in the society and a lot of people will agree to it.” He says that people who have gone through a lot of suffering have agreed to the fact easily.
The organization at present has 200 members and also exists in other cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai. There is another branch in the state of Kerala as well.
Raphael Samuel, who’s from Mumbai raised his eyebrows and said that he is going to sue his parents for giving birth to him. He asks, “We all have rights under the law and we can decide whether we can exercise it or not. So, if I don’t want to exercise a right to live, can I do that?” He agrees to the fact that being born is a natural process; a baby’s consent cannot be asked, but he would like to know whether his consent can be considered when he is 18.
He wants the law of euthanasia (life of a person suffering from severe illness could be terminated to end the persons suffering) to be applicable to anyone who does not want to exercise the right to live. His aim in doing so is to make people understand that humans are reproducing mindlessly – the population is growing and the world is getting destroyed.
The idea of anti-natalism is prevalent in different parts of the world. There is a movement called the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement, which states that the human race should stop reproducing and should voluntarily consider going extinct – so that the earth is saved.
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