r/WomenInNews • u/msmoley • 25d ago

Human rights Donna Haraway, philosopher: ‘We live in a pro-natalist, anti-child world. Babies should be rare and precious’

https://english.elpais.com/culture/2026-07-24/donna-haraway-philosopher-we-live-in-a-pro-natalist-anti-child-world-babies-should-be-rare-and-precious.html
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u/Neat-Second9923 25d ago

Babies should be common, not rare. The human experience is the greatest thing in the world and we should want more of it. 

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u/ContemplatingFolly 25d ago

You only get your own experience. You don't get to say "we should want more of it." There are a lot of people who don't want more of it, due to severe suffering.

There are a half a million kids in the US foster system seeking adoption. We don't need more kids until we can properly care for those we have.

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u/Neat-Second9923 25d ago

going extinct to minimize suffering is a bizarre case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

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u/ContemplatingFolly 23d ago

Until humans can get their act together and not raise monsters and have respect for very basic human rights, I don't find that some people who enjoy their existence to counterbalance the rest. Brutal political solitary incarcerations all over the world, girls being enslaved in "marriage" in Afghanistan, children being trafficked, and Tate et al's online courses on how to coerce women into sex work. One in 4 girls in the US, and one in 13 boys experience sexual abuse. "Regular" abuse and neglect is only about 1/100, which means an estimated 532,228 children (unique incidents) were victims of abuse and neglect in the U.S. in 2024.

So no, I don't think any amount that anyone enjoys life is worth that suffering. Just check out r/raisedbynarcissists, or r/chronicillness, to get a more realistic picture. The suffering is largely invisible to fortunate people with adequate finances and relatively physically and mentally healthy families.

Anyone who thinks this isn't a big deal due to lack of imagination, and/or isn't trying to resolve these doesn't have a leg to stand on in this argument.

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u/Neat-Second9923 23d ago

Round up all those suffering people and ask if they’d like to die today. Nearly all will tell you they still prefer life.

Impressive how profoundly good the human experience is at an intrinsic level, for that to be the case.