Is Childbirth Prevention an Adequate Solution?
Author: Jake Kim | Category: Unkown category | Date: 09-27-2020
In his essay, “The Case for Single-Child Families”, Bill McKibben justifies the usage of birth control and other methods of pregnancy prevention by revealing the environmental harm that springs from childbirth. As an environmental advocate and a lover for babies, this revelation has posed a great dilemma on my view towards childbirth and parenthood.
Without a doubt, McKibben is right when he says childbirth is a large contributor to environmental harm, especially in first world countries. Although a hurtful truth, it is undeniable that more dependents on commercial goods will ultimately lead to a significantly larger amount of trash. Because a majority of our recyclables are incinerated or put in a landfill without our knowledge, it is easy to ignore the detrimental harm that each and every one of us are inflicting on the Earth.
However, I don’t think cutting down on our reproduction rates is the right way to meet the current environmental crises. Sure, it does prevent tons of trash from ending up in landfills or in the air, but it does not get to the roots of the problem: consumerism and manufacturing. This solution encourages our perpetual consumption of goods by limiting the people that have access to such goods. This is a problem, as it does not discourage our environmentally harmful acts. We are cutting down on the number of consumers instead of doing the right thing, which is to simply buy with an adequate purpose. Also, we can substantially reduce our environmental harm by choosing and creating eco-friendly alternatives to our everyday consumptions. For example, we can replace plastic water bottles with paper (boxed) water bottles and plastic bowls with biodegradable ones. There are so many alternatives on the come up with little to no disadvantages to them. Simply put, it is foolish to prevent childbirth solely to keep up our harmful consumption and manufacturing habits.
Religiously speaking, there is not much to say regarding childbirth. As a pastor’s child, I have not felt the obligation nor plan to forbear parenthood to devote myself to Christ. In fact, I believe that childbirth could even benefit spiritual relationships with God, as occasional familial hardships could remind people to reevaluate their spiritual lives. While I do feel the need to preserve the wonders that God created in this world, again, childbirth prevention only delays and empowers our duties to the environment.
All in all, the usage of contraceptives is definitely an eco-friendly act, but not the most effective. Decisions on whether or not to have a child should not rely solely on environmental circumstances, but also one’s values and attitudes towards the role of parenthood. Instead of shifting the blame on newborn consumers, we should shift the blame on ourselves and manufacturers. By revising our consumption habits, we can ultimately establish a more stable and consistent means for combatting the environmental crises.
About: Jake Kim
