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Voluntary sterilization to save the world
Ecology: These French people who chose voluntary sterilization to save the world
For ecological reasons, men and women have chosen not to procreate, and have opted for irreversible contraception.
"Having children has become a selfish choice in my opinion". Florence, 24, had her tubes tied in April 2018 to never get pregnant. And for good reason, on the occasion of the IPCC report on October 8, AFP specified through an infographic published on Twitter that “having one less child” would reduce CO2 emissions. Contacted via the Facebook groups “Voluntary sterilization (Ligature, Essure, Vasectomy)” and “ VHEMT Francophone (Movement for the voluntary extinction of humanity), the men and women I interviewed chose voluntary sterilization to answer to the ecological emergency.
French law authorizes this contraceptive method since July 4, 2001. Nevertheless, it remains marginal in France: according to the National Institute of Demographic Studies , only 5% of women in union had used it in 2010. Sylvain, 34 years old, wants to have a vasectomy. For this peasant, if the world population has gone from 1.6 billion inhabitants in 1900 to nearly 8 billion today, it is "only because man has found how to exploit fossil fuels en masse". But he is convinced of it: "These energies will have an end and there will come a time when we can no longer extract them from the ground at low cost. "
Already in 1972, Dennis Meadows, co-author of The Limits To Growth report commissioned by the Club of Rome , predicted a population collapse in 2030, under the pressure of demographic and industrial growth. Sylvain, who has imposed on himself to live below the poverty line, warns: “We will have to collectively lower our requirements and return to pre-industrial standards of living. Demographic decline is one of them. Sereb, a 31-year-old child who has had a vasectomy, agrees. "I realized that humanity has not been able to make the choice between living for a few tens of millions of human beings with high comfort, and living for a few billion with a modest standard of living," he says. -he.
For David, 33, who had a vasectomized in February 2018, bringing a baby into the world not only plays on animal exploitation, but also poses a risk to the kid, himself. "Since January, newborns have received 11 compulsory vaccines which are tested on animals", he indignantly before continuing: "Children are forced to drink milk, to finish their meat to be strong and respond to standards. We are going to look for transgenic soybeans to feed the animals that the children will eat before they get sick. This quality of life offered to them is absolutely not worth living. "A breeding which, as David would like to point out, is responsible for 14.5% of greenhouse gas emissions. Lou, 27, has been vasectomized since last October, and speaks similarly.
Last December, 15-year-old Swedish Greta Thunberg called on children to take a school strike for the climate . So, why not give an ecological education to our kids, rather than not seeing them born at all? For Florence, this is utopian. “The more we want to forbid a child to do something, the more he will want to do it. And then, it's a beautiful thing to educate someone in ecology but the simple fact of living today, it pollutes ”, she blurted.
Worse yet, this solution would be far from solving all environmental problems, according to Sereb. "We quickly realize that what we call ecology in adolescence - selective sorting, revegetation of urban spaces, individual electric car - does not weigh much in the face of the scale of the issue", realizes he. As for Sylvain, who has decided to settle in a cabin in the middle of the forest and to produce his food as much as possible thanks to agriculture and permaculture, he refuses to impose his way of life on a kid. “Raising a child in a context as decreasing as mine is too much anxiety,” he explains.
But, why did these men and women choose voluntary sterilization over another method of contraception? Before considering having her tubes tied, Alexandra, 32, went through the pill, IUD and implant. “The consequences on the body are considerable and I believe I have the right not to swallow hormones every day or to undergo painful procedures every 3 or 5 years. I want to lead my life quietly, ”she insists. For her part, Florence tested 5 or 6 pills that she could not bear. “I'm sick of being a guinea pig. For me, the best contraception is the one you choose, ”she says.
For some guys, too, resorting to voluntary sterilization is part of feminist activism. David is one of them: "There is a time when men must also take their responsibilities", he reacts. Lou agrees, “It's not a sacrifice for me to have vasectomized because I don't want a child. And in a feminist motivation, I want to get involved in contraception. As for Sylvain, he believes that voluntary sterilization "is much safer" than another contraceptive. "When I talk to my friends who have children, I realize that a lot of them are accidents, whether it's a condom, a female contraceptive method that screwed up or a withdrawal that did not work", remarks- he.
Alexandra and Florence remain lucid. They are aware that on their own scale, they will not save the planet. "At my small level it will not change anything", regrets the first. "I am not going to change the face of the world on my own, but for my personal convictions, it is important for me", assures the second. Alexandra nevertheless advocates "a policy of voluntary sterilization". Because, if the law authorizes this type of operation, in fact, patients suffer from numerous refusals from doctors. "They tell me that I am single and that if in a few years I meet someone and I want a child, I will sue them", reports Alexandra.
David knows that if he changes his mind and wants to raise a kid one day, he will go through adoption. “There are so many children who want it, that I would go and find it,” he says. The same is true for Lou. "Even if I wanted a child and wasn't sterilized, I would adopt. I am not attached to this idea of biological filiation, ”he explains. Sereb is not so convinced. “Adoption is less irresponsible than pure procreation. But that means that you have to import a child from poor countries to make him embrace the lifestyle of rich countries. However, ecology as I see it means reducing everyone's borrowing, starting with that of the wealthiest people, ”he says.
https://www.vice.com/fr/article/3k9m...Uq_Bi4BZwbn1-0 (Google translation)
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Originally Posted by Laly
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