r/antinatalism

From a religious perspective: Even the prophets, supposedly chosen by God, endured immense suffering.

From a non-theistic perspective: Suffering is a fundamental, inescapable reality as old as human history itself.

If pain is the absolute constant across all beliefs and realities, bringing a new life into this cycle is an unjustifiable gamble.

Personally I dont because I dont talk much to people first of all and I find it hard to convince or enlighten others.

Bringing up antinatalism to people quickly results to drama and I already struggle with things like hidden social cues that are often illogical in my opinion because I have aspergers those hidden social cues dont make sense to me.

If you want to maximize good you could argue you have to enlighten others about antinatalism but this can be self harming because people lack the critical thinking to realise antinatalism is logical or they are too biased for it.

And im conflicted because my sister has a baby but im against having kids unless you adopt them.

I am not "childfree."

I am not "abstaining" from reproduction purely because I don't want kids, or want to end *my* bloodline specifically.

I am not reproducing because i believe the human race should come to an end, and animals should retake the earth, and nature retake it's course to hopefully rectify all the damage humans have done.

This will only happen after all human kind has died off.

I am also *not* vegan, nor do i have plans to change that. But that doesn't lessen my antinatalist viewpoint. Animals will always breed whether or not you have any hand in it. Plus, the kicker is that most of the vegan arguments I've heard are also directly conflicting with their views of antinatalism.

So, many here claim that any life brought into this world is one of suffering, regardless of species. In the same breath, they also advocate for somehow preventing animals from reproduction (even when they are not pets). Do you not realize this also leads to a direct conflict with Vegan Ideals? Do you not go vegan to save animal lives?? Like, I'm confused here how you can be both Antinatalist, and vegan, when the goals you preach towards are directly going to lead to the death of so many animal species?

If some sentiments I've seen in this subreddit come to fruition, the following will happen.

1.All animals will end up "fixed", unable to reproduce by their own will or otherwise.

2. Because they cannot reproduce, those species will die.

3. Humans will ideally also die (likely due to dietary malnutrition, disease, ect), leaving no one to bring back these species.

4. The whole planet will die, leaving only plants.

5.(And i admit this one may be a stretch, but I've seen what damage plants can do when left unchecked, so this is an assumption based on personal experience.) Said plants will very likely grow out of control and potentially destroy the planet without herbivore "predation" to regulate them.

To be clear here, I'm not encouraging being non-vegan, so the mods and bots don't get pissy about it. I'm simply asking how one can claim to be both, when they very clearly are *NOT* synonymous or compatible.

its almost like both of my parents have opposite personalities as me which is ultimately what led me to thinking in an antinatalist viewpoint. If “consciousness lives on through offspring” then why do I feel like a outcast compared to my parents and most of the people in my family?

I was told as a teenager that I was just rebellious but now Im 25 and still see my mom as being highly emotional to the point where its overbearing , and my dad is egotistical and materialistic to the point where its his whole personality. They are also separated for having their differences. On top of that I dont share any of the same interests as either one of them. I moved out of their houses the second I became an adult (without their help) and I dont regret it.

I think reincarnation is real but to say that you need to reproduce in order to reincarnate doesn’t make sense and doesn’t even align with the original buddhist concept of reincarnation. to me it just seems like pregnancy/having kids is a way to bind your soul to someone else’s , which is so tricky because in 2 years or even 2 months you could grow to hate that person you chose and just like that the child’s life becomes more difficult and traumatizing from seeing their parents not get along.

I’d much rather live my life without feeling the weight of bringing another soul into this world and having to constantly worry about them. And I don’t trust anyone enough to want to bind my soul to them.

I see my mom worries so much about me and my siblings and i heard thats just natural motherly instinct to do that. Well that sounds awful to me and call me lazy or whatever but i do not want to put my body thru intense strain for 9 months just to push out another being that i will be worried and concerned about for the rest of my life. And if something bad happens to them it will eat me alive. Sounds like the definition of hell.

TLDR ; the only similarities i share with my parents are my physical features so theres absolutely no way their consciousness exists inside me. we are not our parents and its selfish for parents to project expectations for themselves onto their kids.

Asymmetry of pain and pleasure.

What can I do?I hate the idea of breeding domestic animals, because imo it's the most selfish act person can do.She doesn't even have an excuse for this.She just likes kittens.

Every animal, every plant, every living thing exists for one reason only—it reproduces—and any individual that has mutated in a negative way dies.

Nature is reproduction and death in agony.

People constantly talk about how diverse, beautiful, and extraordinary the world around us is. But I see that it’s all just a selfish race of genes, random, chaotic mutations, and death in suffering when something goes wrong.

And many people are fine with that. People who haven’t faced suffering or aren’t aware of it believe that all of this is wonderful and right. But in reality, it’s all disgusting and unjust.

I do not think so.

In this short address, Acharya Prashant delivers a powerful, mathematically grounded defense of anti-natalistic ethics through an environmental lens.

He explicitly critiques the cultural double standards surrounding birth and conservation, pointing out that society laments deforestation while actively cheering on the expansion of human resource consumption via reproduction.

He argues that bringing a new individual into the world is the absolute worst ecological choice one can make, far outweighing any individual lifestyle adjustments like recycling or switching to renewables.

It’s a great piece for demonstrating how traditional social scripts and family-worship directly blind people to the physical boundaries of a finite planet.

I’m 21, female, childfree, and queer. I don’t want kids.

I’ve been wanting to get a salpingectomy in Wisconsin but I’m at a cross-roads. I’m under Dean Health Plan through my mother, and we go through SSM which does not even allow elective sterilization due to it being a catholic provider.

I know there are child-free friendly clinics in my area, but I don’t know if I’m “allowed” to go to them? I’d probably just have to pay out of pocket, right?

I don’t really know what I’m supposed to do? I’m in Madison WI area. I cannot turn to my parents for help because they are both strongly against me getting sterilization and will not help me. I don’t know how this sort of thing works. They’ve never really explained insurance to me & all the info I have found is confusing. Any guidance is appreciated.

Is it as simple as being referred to an out of network provider? I don’t know. Thanks.

So I am confused, as I believe that it is the moral duty to not bring new life into the world, however I also hold anti abortion views and I’m not sure if I have to pick a side tbh. I’d appreciate some feedback/dissection so I can try and work out if I have to choose a side or if I can successfully hold both views.

Edit: The issue I think I have resolved and it was due to strict religious upbringing and I need to sort that out myself! Thank you all for commenting!

I'm AN vegan but I welcome all sorts of folks whether they are conditional natalists (either vegan or non-vegan), antinatalists (either vegan or non-vegan), and even those who are just curious about the philosophy.

Thats just me. Don't shoot me. I'm already doing my best here.

I am just curious what my fellow AN vegans think about the conditional natalists and non-vegan ANs.

Do you welcome them more than those who procreate and do you think that this sub should only be for AN vegans?

This is not a post to instigate a war.

Whoever you are, whether you're AN or not, I just want to gather opinions. Peace ✌️🫂

When I first came across antinatalism I thought about my responsibility as a hypothetical parent.Now after a long time I realised — if my h.c was killed by someone, I would be blaming myself, because all of my actions and choices including giving birth is what led to this situation.

Basically in any situation when my h.c suffers I'm the first one to blame, because without me being egoistic, their sufferings wouldn't happen in the first place.

In this discussion, Acharya Prashant challenges the common assumption that having children is simply the natural or unquestioned next step in life, asking instead whether most people genuinely reflect on the emotional, psychological, and ethical responsibility it demands.

His central point is : many people may enter parenthood due to social conditioning, biology, or habit without deeply examining whether they are prepared to nurture a free and healthy mind. At the same time, those who seriously reflect on the depth of that responsibility may approach the decision with far more caution.

Whether one agrees or disagrees, the discussion pushes us to think about parenthood not merely as a social milestone, but as a profound responsibility that deserves far more awareness than it often receives. Read the full article.