A Kamala Harris campaign aide who focuses on climate change has already promoted the antinatalist view that the potential for widespread environmental destruction is a reason not to have children.
Camila Thorndike, the director of climate engagement for Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign, told Washington Post in 2022 that fears about climate change influenced her hesitation to have children.
“It comes partly from a place of love for my hypothetical child,” she said.
“I want to protect you from suffering. Not that life is free from suffering, but… what will happen to the joys and peace and goodness that make me happiest to be alive 20, 30, 40 years from now?” Thorndike, a veteran of the left-wing environmental movement, joined Harris’ campaign after serving in several senior roles at Rewiring America [Reconfigurando a América, em tradução livre]a climate-focused nonprofit that promotes electrification. Harris’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Thorndike’s antinatalist views are not uncommon among young, progressive environmentalists who believe the planet faces environmental catastrophe in the near future. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the face of youth progressivism, said in 2019 that it is a “legitimate question” to consider whether having children makes sense given the nature of climate change.
An Ipsos poll conducted in February found that 9 percent of U.S. adults ages 18 to 35 have postponed having children because of climate change. Researchers at University College London reviewed 13 studies and concluded that concerns about climate change are associated with a lower desire to have children.
The phenomenon of “climate anxiety” is the subject of numerous studies and news articles describing the existential fear that progressive teens are feeling due to apocalyptic climate predictions. It’s even becoming a niche within psychology for “climate-aware” therapists to help people deal with the negative mental health effects of climate fears.
Harris herself has previously explained the influence “climate anxiety” is having on young people who might otherwise want to have children.
“You know, I’ve heard young leaders talk to me about a term they’ve coined, ‘climate anxiety,’ which is fear of the future and the unknown, whether it makes sense to even think about having children, whether it makes sense to even think about aspiring to buy a house, because what’s this climate going to be like?” Harris he said node Reading Area Community College [Faculdade Comunitária da Região de Reading] last year.
With Pennsylvania up for grabs, Harris has spoken out against a fracking ban, a shift in her stance since she last ran for president. Her campaign has also said she does not support regulation of electric vehicles, a Biden administration policy and a key demand of the environmental movement. But her decision to hire Thorndike suggests she will remain receptive to environmentalists’ calls for radical climate action.
Copyright 2024 National Review. Published with permission. Original in English: Harris Campaign Aid Hesitant to Have Children Due to Climate Change
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