Cohousing-L Mailing List: Having children

[Saramandaia Farm (etaincr]

I have children...I gave birth to two and adopted one.  It's almost universal 
among animals to reproduce, and humans aren't an exception.  It requires 
over-riding a biological imperative to not reproduce, and it also requires 
considerable technology for those of us who want a conjugal life that includes 
sexual intercourse.  By considerable technology I mean contraception or 
sterilization.  So drugs, latex, surgery...

Unrestrained fertility is another issue, and we in the "developed world"  
usually exert ourselves to avoid it. I live in a "developing" country, and have 
seen the birth rate fall precipitously with the availability to women of 
contraceptives.  So education and access to reliable family planning, absent 
ideas of conquest via high reproductive rates, would seem to be the answer to 
what we generally understand as overpopulation.  The there's the argument that 
overpopulation isn't the real problem...that maldistribution of resources is 
the problem.  A bit disingenuous.

 Sustainability is a pretty explicit term...a definition randomly chosen by 
me..."The ability to provide for the needs of the world's current population 
without damaging the ability of future generations to provide for themselves."  
If we have no children, there ARE no future generations, and sustainability is 
moot...or by default becomes the ability of OTHER animals to provide..." etc.  
There's also the "no people, no co-housing" truth.

I'm not sure what Sherry means by "more children".  More than what or whom?

Sharon

 
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