Fair Start Movement

Author: Fair Start Movement

  • Earth Overshoot Day – Take Action Now

    Earth Overshoot Day – Take Action Now

    August 1, 2018 is Earth Overshoot Day.

    Worried that the federal government is actually making things worse, and hurting your kids’ future? You would be right. But you can take action by urging your local government, your town, city or county, to do the most effective thing possible to mitigate climate change and protect the environment.

    Between now and the end of the year, consider using the template below to urge your local government to take a position on the need for better family planning. Send them the draft, and then lobby them hard to do their jobs and protect you, your family, and your future.

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    Resolution acknowledging that Earth Overshoot Day 2018 is August 1, 2018 and Affirming [add your local government reference here] Commitment to Move Back the Date of Earth Overshoot Day And Provide Affordable and Accessible Family Planning Services

    WHEREAS, Earth Overshoot Day is the date each year when it is determined that we (all of humanity) have used more of the Earth’s natural resources than our planet can renew in that entire year; and

    WHEREAS, In 1970, Earth Overshoot Day was December 29; and

    WHEREAS, This year, Earth Overshoot Day is August 1, 2018; and

    WHEREAS, We now use the resources equivalent to that of 1.7 Earths; and

    WHEREAS, One way to live within the means of our planet is to ensure affordable and accessible family planning services, including birth control and women’s health services; and

    WHEREAS, Better family planning is a proven effective way to improve child welfare, reduce economic inequality, and protect and restore our environment; and

    WHEREAS, Smaller, child-centered families would result in 50% more biocapacity per person in 2100, and more biocapacity makes it easier to have thriving lives for all within the means of the planet; and

    WHEREAS, Investing in smaller, child-centered families through the empowerment of women is also consistent with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG Number 5 General Equality calls for ending all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere, including giving women equal rights to economic resources and promoting gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels; and

    WHEREAS, Gender equality can also help ensure that we live within the means of our planet because when women are respected as equal partners in the household, at work, and in the community, better social outcomes for their families, including health and educational achievements invariably ensue; and

    WHEREAS, In 2011, nearly half (45% or 2.8 million) of the 6.1 million pregnancies in the United States each year were unintended; and[1]

    WHEREAS, Studies show that family planning programs and preventing teen pregnancy lead to more stable families and allow girls to stay in school longer; and

    WHEREAS, Studies also show that the more education young girls and women receive, the longer they wait to have children; and[2]

    WHEREAS, Some communities have instituted affordable and accessible family planning programs, which have resulted in an average 48% decrease in teen pregnancy; and

    WHEREAS, Family planning programs enable more women to use the birth control method of their choice and empower more individuals to plan if and when to become pregnant; and

    WHEREAS, The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently released proposed changes to prohibit the use of federal Title X Family Planning Program funding for agencies that provide abortions or abortion-related services; and

    RESOLVED [ add your local government reference here] is committed to providing affordable and accessible family planning services, which is under attack by the Trump Administration, to protect our planet and its resources for future generations.

    [1] https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/unintended-pregnancy-united-states

    [2] https://www.wired.com/story/to-stop-climate-change-educate-girls-and-give-them-birth-control/

  • Why Can’t We Prevent Horrific Child Abuse?

    Why Can’t We Prevent Horrific Child Abuse?

    These are just a few of the incidents of child abuse and neglect reported around the country in the past few weeks.

    How many more cases go undetected? The reality is that between 3-5 children die every day in the United States from neglect and abuse.

    It’s time to stop this. And the best way to do that is  by creating a culture, derived from smart policies, that prevents abusive and neglectful parent from ever having kids. It’s time to get proactive, rather than reactive.

    Who would oppose this? Lots of politicians and big businesses make money off of our current family planning system, which pushes as many kids as possible into the world because doing so ensures a growing supply of hungry consumers, and a future filled with cheap labor and lots of taxpayers. They are to blame, and should be held accountable.

    Having Kids is promoting fundamental change through our Fair Start order campaign. It’s simple: If you’ve been convicted of a serious case of child abuse and cannot care for children, you will be ordered not to have additional children until the situation changes.

    These orders are a fair and constitutional way to change the way we plan our families. It’s called the child-first Fair Start model. 

    Let’s get ahead of the problem. Take action now and support Fair Start order legislation in your state.

     

     

  • How Not to Think About Demographic Transition

    How Not to Think About Demographic Transition

    Why is something news? Many journalists would say that things which impact large numbers of people should be reported upon. Late last week many news outlets covered a story about how the trend towards smaller families means the “extinction of the middle child.”

    How this change in family structures will impact peoples’ lives, comprehensively, is beyond uncertain, if It could be ascertained at all. What is certain is that smaller families are the best way to limit what is now a manifest pattern of climate change degrading well-being on earth and threatening our kids’ future. Smaller families are also a great way to mitigate the real extinction at hand – that of other species.

    We may have an emotional reaction to changes in things we are used to, things like the concept of middle children. But focusing on that – and not mentioning climate change in stories about family size – is negligent.

    So what’s the next move? Today the demographic transition to smaller families is thought of almost exclusively in quantitative terms. But it’s impossible to change family size without having qualitative impacts, and opportunities. With smaller families we can more easily work together to plan for and invest more in each child, perhaps even enough to give every child a fair start in life relative to other members of their generation.

    Let’s talk about what matters. Take action today.

  • Having Kids Hits the Ground at the UN

    Having Kids Hits the Ground at the UN

    Wednesday was World Population Day, and this year’s theme was “Family Planning Is A Human Right.” Predictably, the UN has focused on access to contraception. But aren’t there bigger issues to address than that? Today we are willingly harming others, future generations and the nonhuman world, if our family planning work does not also include a discussion of family size. We know that planning smaller families is the best way to mitigate climate impact and improve outcomes for all kids.

    Sadly the media largely ignored World Population Day, and failed to connect family planning to the issues they cover every day. So we cut out the middle man, and hit the pavement to take our request for better family planning straight to people at the UN.

    Here are our people, spreading the word on the need to focus on smaller families, and why that benefits everyone, as well as the planet.

    A woman in a light dress and sandals points at a man in a suit and lanyard as he approaches on a city sidewalk near bike racks and traffic, with modern buildings in the background.   Three people stand on a city sidewalk in daylight; one woman hands a flyer to another woman, while a man looks on. Trees, buildings, and a crosswalk are visible in the background.

    “It was so comforting to see that a great deal of UN employees and interns were behind a cause that I was previously worried that only a few were concerned about,” explained Having Kids street team member, Andie Youniss.

    Whether you are worried about the future of our planet, rising inequality, world hunger, conflicts, or all of the above, you can speak out. We will be planning more events soon. Email info@fairstartmovement.org if you are interested in organizing an outreach event in your community!

    A woman in a beige dress stands on a city sidewalk, holding papers. Behind her are vehicles, flagpoles with international flags, and a tall glass building under a clear blue sky. UN World Population Day

    Urge the UN Secretary General to recommend smaller families across the world. 

    Add your name here.

     

  • TAKE ACTION AGAINST TRUMP’S ATTACK ON WOMEN AND CHILDREN

    TAKE ACTION AGAINST TRUMP’S ATTACK ON WOMEN AND CHILDREN

    The Trump administration is trying to amend our family planning policies in ways that hurt women and children, including imposition of a domestic “gag rule.” They are proposing changes to Title X – the only federal program dedicated to increasing access to contraceptive care for low-income women. It would take away funding to providers who simply mention abortion as an option.

    The Title X changes are an obvious effort to defund Planned Parenthood, who is the only healthcare service for many. The proposed rules are intended to mislead women about their health care options and would encourage the use of ineffective birth control methods. Women deserve facts. The proposed Title X changes will affect people for their entire lives.

    TAKE ACTION – Comments are due 07/31/2018 at 11:59 PM EDT.

    Draft key points are below – feel free to copy, modify and/or otherwise use: 

    • This radical proposal has never been implemented in the United States and it would jeopardize the trusting relationship between women and their providers and put the health of the 4 million women nationwide who use Title X clinics at risk.
    • The proposed rule could increase the rate of unintended pregnancy by eliminating the requirement that Title X clinics provide access to the full range of FDA-approved contraceptive methods,
    • Methods encouraged in this rule such as “natural family planning” and “fertility awareness-based” methods are significantly less effective with typical use than long-acting methods, leading to a higher number of unintended pregnancies.
    • Reducing unintended pregnancy helps families get off to the best possible start. It empowers women to attain their education goals, helping create financially secure and strong families, lowers the abortion rate and reduces the number of people who need to use Medicaid and other public assistance programs.

     

     

     

  • The Hill Covers the Need for Better Family Planning

    The Hill Covers the Need for Better Family Planning

    Can we expand our thinking, and link the chaos of today’s world with some common source, something to which we can direct our attention and alter to truly make the world and future a better place? Yes we can.

    Trump’s separation of families at the border is merely one example. The Hill, a key political media outlet, recently covered Having Kids’ call for better family planning. Read the full article here. 

    Have ideas of your own for linking events in the world today to the need for better family planning? Get in touch with us at Info@HavingKids.org

  • A Video Message for World Population Day 2018

    A Video Message for World Population Day 2018

    Karin Kuhlemann is an expert on the ethics of family planning, and the impact of family planning on the future of the world. She has a message to share for World Population Day 2018.

    Take Action for World Population Day 2018

    Tell UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to recommend smaller families for all. Sign the petition.

  • World Population Day: Having Kids Calls for Day of Action at the United Nations

    World Population Day: Having Kids Calls for Day of Action at the United Nations

    Read the press release here. 

    Today, in anticipation of World Population Day on July 11th, the national child-protection organization Having Kids called upon the United Nations Secretary General to abandon the UN’s outdated family planning modeling in favor of a sustainable “smaller family” model. Having Kids will be peacefully leafleting in front of the UN headquarters tomorrow, urging Sec. Gen. António Guterres to issue a statement on family planning supporting the need for smaller families worldwide. The facts are crystal clear:

    Having Kids Executive Director Anne Green said this: “We offer the child-first Fair Start family planning model as a sustainable alternative to the UN’s current free-for-all and isolationist model. The Fair Start model is cooperative rather than isolationist, is based upon binding sources of international law, and provides a clear human rights-based solution to the problems discussed above and a path forward.”

    TAKE ACTION NOW

    Having Kids is a 501(c)3 nonprofit nonprofit organization dedicated to reforming family planning by replacing parent-centered family planning models with the human rights-based and child-first Fair Start model.

  • Push Back On Lobbyists Driving Climate Change and Hurting Our Kids

    Push Back On Lobbyists Driving Climate Change and Hurting Our Kids

    A federal judge recently dismissed a very modest lawsuit to recoup the government’s costs – the ones you pay as a taxpayer – for having to deal with the impacts of climate change. Jay Timmons, the manufacturing trade association lead is one of the lobbyists who opposed the lawsuit as “baseless.”

    Don’t you have an overriding and God-given right to a safe, healthy and natural environment? Isn’t that the very least a government has to assure in order to remain legitimate? How bad does it have to get before we realize the government has failed to protect us and our kids?

    The problem with climate change is that it seems amorphous and overwhelming, so much so that we have a cognitive bias against taking corrective action. The way around that is to understand that climate change is not just randomly happening. It is being exacerbated by very specific people who are enriching themselves, profiting from harming the environment in which we and our children live. Jay Timmons is one of those persons.

    This is not complex. He and his kind are harming the environment in which we live, and threatening our children. Justice means holding him, and others like him, accountable for the harm they have done and the suffering they will cause.

    Take action: Tweet him @JayTimmonsNAM and let him know how you feel. It’s up to us to protect the future. This is the challenge of our age – and we will rise to it.