What if women stopped having babies?

[Whatifitneverhappened]

There was an article in the news yesterday about declining birth rates: www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/may/09/world-needs-babies-better-rethink-what-we-need-from-mothers

What do you think would happen if women chose to stop having babies altogether? Would the human race die out? Or AIBU to think men wouldn't allow this to happen and women's reproductive choices would be simply taken away Gilead-style? Could we grow babies in test tubes to make the role of women as incubators redundant?

Germany have warmly welcomed and given safe haven to more than one million Syrian refugees in the last six years. They are now mostly being nationalised and the Syrian families (many highly educated) have injected new life to many declining rural areas and villages with ageing populations. Smart country.

@NiceGerbil

Germany incentivises women to have babies as well.

Not very bloody well. Still got half-day schools in half the country!

@Whatifitneverhappened

Well it wouldn’t ever happen. Many many women want babies so you’d never get all women to agree to not have babies.

It's a question of trends, though. In South Korea, the birth rate was 0.84 last year. No agreement needed. Instead, South Korean woman are increasingly looking at marriage and parenthood and saying no thank you. The trend is predicted to accelerate.

Japan in particular, but South Korea too, are countries which don't encourage immigration. It's always been acknowledged that the more girls receive an education that extents into their teens and further, the fewer of them choose to have children or limit the number of children they have. Add in the fact Japanese society is incredibly sexist and pornified and it's no surprise the population's falling and ageing dramatically.

The majority of African states have 40%+ of the population under 15. Women there start having children earlier than in Europe and have more. The population of Africa is like to double to more than 2 billion in the next 20-30 years. Given the effects of global warming it's difficult to imagine how such a massive population increase won't cause a shedload of problems.

Still, at least I’d be a Martha.

^^
I always thought being a Martha was best case scenario too.

It would never happen, but it would be no real hardship if it did. Humans have caused so much damage to the planet. Reducing the population in a major way would be a good thing.

Those in favour of reducing the population for the greater good are you volunteering or are you looking towards the "others" as targets? Genuine question?

The main reason Africa's population is growing is because of declining infant mortality & longer life expectancy not because the average African woman is having 7 dc. There are just more women who already exist having 2-3 dc. I find the western judgement & moralising over what African women are doing quite strange tbh. They are doing nothing out of the ordinary & following similar patterns to Western countries.

If it wasn't for immigration, Britain's population would also be falling now. I expect it's something the world will have to adapt to rather than address. Sooner or later all countries will have declining populations.

Houses will stand empty. Prices will fall.

I'd say the concept of healthy retirement will disappear. The able bodied will need to work until they drop, as it used to be in past.

@MistressoftheDarkSide

Those in favour of reducing the population for the greater good are you volunteering or are you looking towards the "others" as targets? Genuine question?

Childfree by choice here, so in a roundabout way, yes.

Ah, so women must be educated and encouraged to suppress needless reproduction. Why not encourage men to be diligent about contraception, or encourage vasectomies after two children? Why is it all about women's capability to reproduce when men can pretty much bred like rabbits? Ethics indeed.....

Those in favour of reducing the population for the greater good are you volunteering or are you looking towards the "others" as targets? Genuine question?

I do think we need to have a discussion about ageing populations & contributions because our current model isn't sustainable but no one in power wants to have it.

It would take a long long time for birthrates to drop everywhere to a significant level. My guess is that the rate will continue to drop and the population will decrease gradually. Not a bad thing really.

There’d be plenty of people to look after old people if they weren’t out serving capitalism instead.

Imagine if all the people selling future landfill were happily looking after granny instead. (I’m amongst those future landfill sellers, no judgement here.)

The world population is predicted to peak around 2050 and then start falling. So within our/our DC's lifetime these changes will be felt. I think it's going to be one of the most enormous changes in society over the next 100 years, as well as climate change.

Our economic system is based on a growing population and relentless consumption. The population is sorting itself out. Probably the economic system will have to change radically.

@wotchhha

The main reason Africa's population is growing is because of declining infant mortality & longer life expectancy not because the average African woman is having 7 dc. There are just more women who already exist having 2-3 dc. I find the western judgement & moralising over what African women are doing quite strange tbh. They are doing nothing out of the ordinary & following similar patterns to Western countries.

Actually, the average African woman has 4.7 children — considerably more than you estimate. This article gives more information, and yes, improvements in infant and child mortality are a part of it.

theconversation.com/whats-driving-africas-population-growth-and-what-can-change-it-126362

No one's moralising about what African women are doing, simply stating the reality.

To be a Martha, didn't you need to have had a child/never had a job/used contraception /had an abortion/done anything deemed pro womens rights?

Lots of us not allowed, right there

I think the economic system will change rapidly too.

The population of the world would reduce and that would be a good thing, yes? We’re trashing the planet and there’s too many of us. You’re never going to get every woman stopping having babies so there’d still be some.

[quote Whatifitneverhappened]@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland. Or they're just ahead of the trend?[/quote]
Should start Instagram on it😁

Me and my trend setting ovaries

I think its about time people made a greater effort to limit the number of children they have. If they don't eventually it will have to be tsken out of their control. Whether it be in 50 years 100 years or further into the future.

I'm in my late 20s and there are 2 main camps amongst my friend group: those who have or are planning to have children and become SAHMs, and those who think that children will destroy their life (some because they cannot stand children and babies, and others because it's almost impossible to find a man willing to be a SAHD while they pursue their ambitions). I do think that more people are choosing to lead a childfree life these days as compared to previous years though.

It’s an irrelevant question, too many women are still going to keep on spaffing out a kid with little thought, forcing more consumers into survival on a dying planet. justsigneduptopostthis did you mean ‘babies’? Why would you not be proud to have a childfree adult offspring ?