Saving the planet is all the rage these days. Now, an Australian bioethicist wants to charge people a carbon tax for having children. The money would be used to plant trees as an offset to the global warming that the new children would allegedly cause. From the story:
Professor Walters, clinical associate professor of obstetric medicine at the University of Western Australia and the King Edward Memorial Hospital in Perth, called for condoms and “greenhouse-friendly” services such as sterilisation procedures to earn carbon credits.And he implied the Federal Government should ditch the $4133 baby bonus and consider population controls like those in China and India.
Let’s see: China and India have terrible problem with sex selection abortions and China also has an infanticide problem. Moreover, in other contexts we are told by many bioethicists that reproducing is a fundamental right by whatever means desired by whomever might wish to become parents.
Global warming has become a catchall for policies people would be pursuing anyway based on ideology. Or to put it another way: What a crock.
You have a decision to make: double or nothing.
For this week only, a generous supporter has offered to fully match all new and increased donations to First Things up to $60,000.
In other words, your gift of $50 unlocks $100 for First Things, your gift of $100 unlocks $200, and so on, up to a total of $120,000. But if you don’t give, nothing.
So what will it be, dear reader: double, or nothing?
Make your year-end gift go twice as far for First Things by giving now.