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.
Chris Gerrard—Age 61, Nova Scotia
I was born in 1955 into a navy family in Nova Scotia, and into a world of unquestioned optimism where the the beacon of progress brightening the future with promises of bounty for all. The industrial revolution had matured, the green revolution was promising more than enough food, and the average family in my world was five children. Nobody worried about the consequences of our actions - the world was an infinite sink capable of absorbing the detritus of everything we consumed.
I think about the world my child would inhabit—Ellen Pierson
I want to have a baby. I can imagine that baby growing into a toddler, a child, a teenager, and finally an adult. I think about the names I might choose for my son or daughter, the books and stories I would share with him or her, and the things we would do together.
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!