The notion of child free women and the newly visible prevalence of them, often sparks intense debate amongst individuals in which women, their bodies, and their choices undergo intense scrutiny. Those who object to this notion often perpetuate the narrative that making a choice to not bear children makes one selfish and that the child free choice is one individuals will regret making once it is “too late”. Such arguments inherently equate the ability to reproduce with the responsibility to do so, which undermines the position of reproducing individuals in society and undercuts their access to personhood. This narrative continues to vilify women who choose not to have children and pins the phenomenon of a declining global birth rate on individuals who are making a choice that best suits their wants and needs.  

Thinking that having children is a certainty for any person who is physically capable of doing so, further solidifies the grossly incorrect idea that everyone should have kids. Though, having once been children themselves, many can attest to the fact that not everyone is fit to be a parent. There are those that often shirk their responsibilities in this role and grow resentful of their children.  

Additionally, even if reproduction were an obligatory part of the human condition this would logically require unwavering access to quality reproductive health care, which is not the case. Maternal mortality remains a prevalent issue globally that stems from insufficient and bias structures and often times a lack of access to quality care. In pressuring individuals with reproductive capabilities to reproduce and to do so within the confines of systems where they are actively harmed exposes that this issue has never been about safety or care for community. There is great irony in coercing women into having children and then not giving them a safe space to do so or enough time to heal, then further placing the burden of this choice on them by placing the responsibility of the family’s emotional labor as well as physical labor on them. Such considerations are often why women are hesitant to have children in the first place and this is only further exaggerated when their quality of life diminishes from the load of all they must do.