Questioning Our Procreative Ethics with Carter Dillard

It's time to focus on less on what potential parents want and more on what the children of the future need, says human rights lawyer and founder of the Fair Start Movement, Carter Dillard. In the episode we discuss:

-The origins and the mission of the Fair Start Movement.

-Why all children deserve a “fair start” in life, from both an economic and an ecological perspective. 

-The concept of “procreative ethics” and the policy and ideological changes that are needed to support this.

-Why having kids is not a personal matter - since deciding to create another human being cannot be framed as an autonomous act.

-The ethics of China’s lapsed one-child policy, and whether governments have a right to interfere in people’s reproductive lives.

-The thinking behind the three pillars of the Fair Start Movement: “parental readiness,” “birth equity,” and “smaller families.”

-The human rights issues with “pro-growth” economics - which is what tells us we need “more new people” entering the economy in order to support the aging population. 

-Why Japan's plummeting birth rate is framed as a crisis – despite the country being ranked number 6 in the world when it comes to quality of life.

-Their differing approaches to family formation being an early indicator of the rift between Princes William and Harry (!)

-Words of comfort and encouragement for people who would like to have a child, and who are concerned about the future of our planet.

Learn more about Carter and his work with the Fair Start Movement HERE. 

You can also pre-order your copy of Women Without Kids: The Revolutionary Rise of an Unsung Sisterhood HERE—and enter your order number to receive a free reading group guide for the book.