One in three people born between 1981 and 2012 do not have or want children.
Polling conducted by the Independent Center in association with Newsweek found that “30 percent of Gen Zers (people born between 1997 and 2012) and millennials (people born between 1981 and 1996) did not have nor want any children.”
“Comparatively, 62 percent said they had or wanted to have children, while 9 percent said they were unsure,” Newsweek reports.
Shockingly, 23 percent of those surveyed said they believe having children is irresponsible due to “climate change.”
Amy Blackstone, a sociology professor from the University of Maine and the author of Childfree by Choice: The Movement Redefining Family and Creating a New Age of Independence, told Newsweek that she was not surprised by the results of the poll.
“Millennials have been telling us for years that they are concerned about the impact of humans on our climate, particularly in Western nations where our carbon footprints are grotesquely high,” Blackstone said.
“I’m also not surprised that we see a contingent who express concern about boosting the population. Though global population rates are currently still climbing, rates within the national borders of Western nations have been on the decline for years.”
Blackstone also pointed to the fact that “many childfree people are beginning to view their status as nonparents as a part of their identity that shapes their experience in society.”
Ben Carson told Newsweek that this worldview is “anti-human, anti-family, and anti-life—and Americans should wholeheartedly reject this ideological denigration of the nuclear family and instead cherish the beauties of family life.”
“As Americans, it is our duty to support families, build communities, and prepare our nation for the future by cultivating the civic values of the next generation,” Carson continued. “If we want to compete on the world stage with nations like China and India—both of which have over 1 billion people—we need to encourage family formation, strengthen communities, and develop our educational systems for our own children here at home.”
The survey polled 1,200 likely voters younger than 45 between October 18 and 22. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.83 percentage points.
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