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- People are reconsidering whether they want to have children due to the climate crisis.
- A recent survey found that more than half of respondents said environmental concerns had made them reconsider having children.
- Two of the women we spoke to experienced firsthand the effects of climate change on family planning.
Amanda Opuszynski is 35 and trying to get pregnant with her second child. While she is excited and frustrated by trying to conceive, Opuszynski is also worried about the future of her baby. Climate crisisher child will live in. Opuszynski wonders sometimes if having a child is the right decision.
Insider told her that “it’s scary to imagine what it could be, the general uncertainty of all of it all.” “I’m trying weigh that fear against the hope.”
Opuszynski isn’t alone. Last year, climate-relatedKatastrophes Record-breaking levelsWith WildfiresHurricanes, heat waves, and hurricanes have caused billions in damage. Families are most affected by this global turmoil.
In a PollMore than half of the 2,800 respondents indicated that they are considering having children or more children because of climate change. Others — about 26% — said they were considering adoption instead of having biological children because of climate concerns.
Bailey, 27, is one of those who have had to change their family planning due to climate concerns. To protect her privacy, she asked to go by her first initial.
She said, “I’m okay with being a dog mom. But if my partner really wanted children, I would consider adopting.”
A tense conversation
Family planning decisions are always difficult, but more so when members of the family have different views on the climate emergency and the importance to prepare for the worst.
Bailey’s mom can’t understand Bailey’s decisions. The big ones, such as not having a baby, and the small ones, such as her insistence on recycling and going vegan.
She said, “It took me a long while to accept that my family values don’t align with my values.”
Opuszynski feels the friction is closer to home. Daniel, her husband, has two biological children from a previous marriage. He would prefer to not have more children as he is concerned about his ability to provide for his children in a world with less stability and resources.
Opuszynski said that he fears for his children’s safety and basic needs as things go bad.
Daniel is more open than Opuszynski to adopting, but Opuszynski longs for a biological baby. She’s been thinking a lot about why she feels that way lately.
“Do I want it because I’m a female, and it’s socially ingrained within me that you’re not a complete mother until you’re a biological mom?” She agreed.
Amanda Opuszynski
This is a more mainstream concern
Opuszynski married Daniel Opuszynski more than two years ago. Opuszynski’s friends thought Daniel was extreme in his concern about the environment and the impact they had on family planning.
Opuszynski explained that “now, I find them much more receptive.” “I have known friends who put off having children due to similar reasons.”
Bailey stated that she believed that more people would learn about the climate crisis and it would have a greater impact on major life decisions.
She stated that if her mom had been exposed to more resources about environmental concerns, she would have chosen another path.
Opuszynski’s mother insists that every generation has its challenges — whether it’s war, famine, or social change. She says that people have continued to have children regardless of what happened.
Opuszynski stated that he can see both sides. “I feel a little stuck at the middle.”
An uncertain future
Opuszynski is one of those people who can’t predict the future.
She stated that she had no idea what kind world the child would grow up in. “It’s difficult to make a decision that you won’t regret because you don’t know what the future holds.” I’m grieving the loss.
She can see a future with severe resource restrictions and regrets having to support a child, but she can also see a future in which people work towards reducing the impact of climate change. NotHaving a baby.
Bailey has a clearer answer.
She said, “There is too many things beyond my control to ensure that my children have peaceful and healthy planets to grow up on.”
