Childless by choice

So I have created my own Facebook page strictly for professional and writing purposes.  Should you feel so inclined, "friend" me, and you can stay up-to-date on all of my articles and such.  So that whole being off of the Facebook lasted a short while, but...it's a good thing because I do realize now the power that social media has when you are trying to get your name out there.

 

 

I did manage to get some article writing done, and one I found through Yahoo indirectly and the original actually came from Time magazine.  The article was on couples who choose to not have children and live their lives childless.  I covered the debate on whether deciding to not have children during your childbearing years is selfish or not.  An author and many critics out there say that it is selfish in that it hurts the economy - less people, less consumers, less taxpayers.  Personally, I find that argument a bit of a stretch, but...

 

 

Aside from the economic impact, the decision to not have children can be considered selfish or even a sin for religious reasons.  Being a Catholic myself, once a couple is married, it is a given that children will follow, unless medical reasons preclude this.  Actively saying "I am married, but no, we don't want to have children.  Not for any reason other than the fact that...we don't want children."  Do they need a reason other than that?

 

 

In my opinion?  No.  That should suffice.  In writing this article, it's interesting to find the other support groups out there for women and men.  Laura Scott, blogger and creator of The Childless by Choice site, argues that this trend isn't going away.  It's even gone up in the past 30-40 years.  Currently 1 in 5 women choose to not have children during their childbearing years.  This is a drastic change from the 1 in 10 in 1970s. 

 

 

Honestly, I've never been put in the situation.  T and I faced the possibility of not being able to have a child due to my heart, and that thought crushed me because I always wanted to be a mother.  But that isn't for everyone, and it shouldn't be.  Everyone is different.  And choosing to not procreate, even if for "just because" reasons, that doesn't make you selfish.  It's just a personal and private decision. 

 

 

I just had to write a little on it, though, so check out the article here.  I'm curious what other's thoughts are.  Selfish or not?  Or is it too complicated to answer in just a yes or no?