Olivia Andrews—Age 38, Cape Town, South Africa
I am 38 years old and have made the decision to remain child-free. I’m not having children for environmental reasons. I’m worried about what the future holds for our planet with climate change. My partner and I have been together for 16 years. He also doesn’t want children. If he did we would not have got married.
Angela Gott—Age 65, New York
I am now 65. I never married, nor had children. My sister is 60 and she never had children either. Both of us decided in our teens that we never wanted to have children. We were raised in Louisville, Kentucky and are college educated. Our adoptive parents had “time” to enjoy their married lives for 11 years before adopting me in 1951 and my sister in 1956.
Michele—Age 61
I am 61 and never had children. In fact, I worked hard during my productive years to make sure I didn’t get pregnant. I have always believed that I did not need to add another human being to Mother Earth.
Shannon O.—Age 38
People are still shocked when they ask why I don’t have children, and I tell them “for environmental reasons.” People will laugh, and some will actually be offended. Women and men who choose not to have children for these reasons are often criticized and judged harshly by others. I still don’t understand this. Sometimes I’m called “selfish.” That really confuses me!
Sarah Bexell—Age 46, Denver, Colorado
Growing up I assumed I would be a mom someday, but my university studies taught me about the environmental crises plaguing Earth due to human population growth and consumption. My career has focused on the 6th Mass Extinction…
Emma—Age 25
Because we love our unborn children, we are not having them. Growing up, I always joined in on conversations about how many kids I wanted in the future. I always said I wanted them because that’s what you do, and to say otherwise would have been unnatural– but I never felt a desire to be a mother emotionally.
Rebecca Dmytryk—Age 54, Los Angeles, CA
I grew up in the 70s. I knew then we were headed for crisis. I knew when I was 15, I didn’t want to bring a child into the world unless I felt things were going to get better, not worse.
Amy Vegan—San Francisco, CA
Environmental Science professors warned me in the early 1980s not to have children. They said by 2020-2030, the planet would be facing terrifying global conditions that will collapse our habitat by 2050…near term human extinction due to abrupt climate change. And here we are. I’m 54 and have no regrets.
Stephanie Salveter—Age 50, St. Louis, MO
My name is Stephanie, I just turned 50 a few weeks ago and have never really wanted to have my own children. That doesn’t mean I don’t love babies, but I’m lucky enough to have friends who’ve had them that I get to love on whenever I want. It was just never something that was making my clock run fast.
Rachel Ries—Minneapolis, MN
over the past 9 months i’ve been gestating a new and unexpected notion. adjusting to a foreign reality. this one: i don’t think i’m going to have children. and – please know – i’m the one who who was ALWAYS unquestionably gonna have a family.
