Fair Start Movement

Author: Fair Start Movement

  • UNFPA Must Address Climate Change. Take Action.

    UNFPA Must Address Climate Change. Take Action.

    Today, given a recent study showing that the loss of ice in Antarctica has tripled in a decade as a result of the climate change crisis, Having Kids called upon the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to abandon its outdated family planning modeling in favor of the sustainable Fair Start model. Family planning is the most effective way to address climate change and other environmental threats.

    This is our message to the UNFPA Executive Director Natalia Kanem: 

    Dr. Kanem:

    We respectfully request that you consider reforming the family planning model at the heart of the United Nations Population Fund’s work. The UNFPA currently uses an outdated family planning model that was developed before the manifestation of climate change, key developments in the science of early childhood development, and the massive and growing gap between rich and poor that exists today. That outdated model should be reformed to account for these things, and many other problems it exacerbates.

    The current model adopted by the UNFPA recognizes the fundamental human right of parents to decide the number, spacing, and timing of their children. It treats parents as if they were isolated from one another and their community in the act of planning, and does not include the rights of future persons, animals and their environment, the role of family planning in further democracy, etc. That model has no basis in binding sources of international law, and is unethical.

    How does that model account for parents that choose to have massive families, degrade the environment we all share, and put us all at risk? How does it account for parents’ obligation to not flout the Children’s Rights Convention, or even basic standards of fitness, by bringing children into existence below legally mandated thresholds? How does it account for the obligation parents and their community share to give every child a fair start in life, with opportunities equal to their peers? The UNFPA’s current model is isolationist, and by focusing on parents, violates the fundamental human rights of future children and communities.

    We offer the child-first Fair Start family planning model as a sustainable alternative to the UNFPA’s isolationist model. The Fair Start model is cooperative rather than isolationist, is based u[on binding sources of international law, and provides a clear human rights-based solution to the problems discussed above and a path forward. It is also reflected in the worldwide trend towards smaller families that can invest more in each child and ensure a safer future.

    Take action, and ask Dr. Kanem to consider our request by tweeting her at @Atayeshe.

     

  • Family Planning Systems Designed to Protect Children

    Family Planning Systems Designed to Protect Children

    Under California Law Governor Jerry Brown has the ultimate responsibility to protect children from harm. It’s called the parens patriae doctrine. States cannot fulfill their responsibilities to children without improving family planning models, taking steps to screen for irresponsible parents, and to prevent child abuse rather than simply react to it. Having Kids was formed, in part, to show states how to do this. In January, on the heels of the gruesome Turpin case, we wrote to Brown. 

    Brown has yet to respond, and multiple children and infants have been abused and neglected. This will continue to happen.

    The recent case of Gabriel Fernandez, who was tortured and murdered with help of his mother, is a reminder that Brown should act.

    Governor Brown, please promote Fair Start order legislation now. You are politically positioned to take action as your term winds down, and to support a family planning system designed to protect children (and in so doing protect the environment and promote equity), rather than randomly encourage people to have children in order to create economic growth.

    It is your legal responsibility. Please take action now. 

    Take action: Call Jerry Brown at (916) 445-2841 and remind him that he is obligated to do everything possible, including promote Fair Start orders, to stop the abuse.

  • Having Kids Asks Guardian to Issue Correction on Climate Gaffe

    Having Kids Asks Guardian to Issue Correction on Climate Gaffe

    The Guardian recently ran a story claiming that eliminating meat and dairy is the single biggest way to reduce impact on the environment. While going vegan is crucial for our planet, the claim in the article is not quite accurate. Today Having Kids is calling for a correction.

    As the Guardian itself recently reported, multiple studies have shown that choosing smaller families easily has the most impact on environmental crises like climate change. Moreover, those studies did not assess vital and obvious knock-on benefits of smaller families, like better cognitive outcomes for children, opportunities for empathy-building through early childhood development, and increased social cooperation and compliance with environmental norms.

    Population Impact

    From Paul Hawken’s book Drawdown to previous studies on climate change population size has been shown to be the primary driver of climate disruption. That’s also the case for the downstream impacts of climate change like ocean acidification, and for other forms of ecocide, like the loss of biodiversity / mass extinction of other species. Thus, sustainable family planning is the most significant act that we can take to reduce our impact.

    Are Vegans Exempt?

    Dietary changes should not replace better family planning. It should be included as a necessary condition of sustainability. If you want to be a true vegan, change your diet and plan smaller families for the goal of reducing the number of animals used for food and restoration of the nonhuman world. We should do our best to live sustainably through our consumption choices as well as through our reproductive choices.

    Ending the Taboo

    Discussing family planning is difficult because we have a cognitive distortion called temporal myopia. The push for pro-natalism has been ingrained in us over generations since the beginning of time. But today the size of the families we plan will determine our survival on the planet. It’s time to look beyond our selves. We must confront our own self-centered wishes to put our children’s future first.

    Our climate change trajectory is largely the product of past failures to deal with known variables like population and family planning policy. We should not repeat those mistakes, and the media has a grave responsibility in this regard.

    Fertility Rate Vs. the Economy

    Leaders and economists constantly push policies that support having more children to create future consumers and endlessly growth the economy. We see ourselves as consumers, rather than as citizens, which explains why dietary change is the common approach for people who care about animals. But why are we seeking infinite growth? What about a more stable, sustainable economy with a smaller gap between rich and poor and better opportunities for everyone?

    The Trend Toward Smaller Families

    Today there is also a marked trend towards smaller families, driven by several factors that range from cultural to financial. When thinking of policy changes, why not capitalize on, rather than ignore, this existing trend? From fully-funded LARC programming, to reforming child protection systems, to equity-based family tax systems, there are existing and effective vectors for real population policy change that can capitalize on the trend towards sustainable families.

    Family Planning for a Better Future

    Family planning is the unifying and primary driver behind all anthropogenic impacts. To fix our relationship with the nonhuman world, we will have to start at the source. Family planning is also our chance to create more equitable as well as sustainable societies. We can replace increasingly crowded, consumption-oriented economies with more connected communities that live in balance with nature. Family planning must be where we start in any discussion on how to reduce impact – at the source of who we are, and will become.

    The Guardian should issue a correction today. Ask the Guardian to do so at guardian.readers@theguardian.com, and to run a sufficient article explaining the correction highlighting the importance of better family planning.

    Ashley Berke, Spokesperson for Having Kids

     

     

  • Having Kids Calls on Elon Musk to Clarify Position on Family Planning and Population Growth

    Having Kids Calls on Elon Musk to Clarify Position on Family Planning and Population Growth

    Elon Musk, the outspoken billionaire who’s been attacking journalists lately, has also been sending conflicting messages about population growth. He’s incorrectly said that “world population is accelerating towards collapse,” but also decried the “soul destroying traffic” of urban centers like Los Angeles and proposed controversial tunneling by his companies as a solution.  It sounds as if Musk wants to increase population pressures and intensify climate change in order to profit from trying to solve them, and exacerbate the massive gap between poor people and billionaires like Musk in the process.

    Today Having Kids called on Musk to clarify his position on family planning and population growth by endorsing a human-rights based family planning model based on the principle that every child deserves a fair start in life. Musk was born into a privileged upbringing, having attended boarding school in South Africa during its Apartheid era, before leaving the country to avoid military service.

    Having Kids is asking Musk this question: Does he believe that every child deserves a fair start in life, with equal opportunities relative to children like his own? Anne Green, Executive Director of Having Kids, had this to say: “Elon should promote better family planning and true social and economic balance and sustainability, not the creation of more consumers and workers to further his economic empire.” “Many of the world’s richest people are calling for systemic change to avoid class warfare – this is Elon’s chance to do the same, and promote environmental protection at the same time.”

    Take action and tweet @elonmusk to politely ask for him to take a stand. 

    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.

  • Confronting Father Rennier, Poor Family Planning Advocate

    Confronting Father Rennier, Poor Family Planning Advocate

    “Why I Ended Up With Too Many Children” is an opinion piece by Father Rennier, a Catholic priest from St. Louis. He urges having as many kids as God is willing to allow. Having Kids is calling him out, and calling on Pope Francis to correct Father Rennier. Read our letter here.

    Father Rennier states, “No matter how many children you have, the number is always just right.” This perspective is surprisingly disconnected from the harsh realities we witness every day. Even Pope Francis has said that parents should not have more than they can properly bring up. Nearly 40% of American kids spend at least 1 year in poverty before they turn 18, and one in four U.S. children depend on SNAP benefits in a typical month. Rather than push mothers to have kids, Father Rennier should be asking how privileged people, like himself, can improve the conditions in which all children are born, though cooperative family planning models like Fair Start.  

    Father Rennier promotes a lack of responsible family planning by parents and communities. Here’s a fact: Nadya Sulemon (the “Octomom”), who struggles to feed, house, care and give attention to her kids, now says having 14 children was ‘very foolish, immature and selfish’. But according to Father Rennier’s view, her decisions were “just right”, despite the impact that large families have on our social safety nets as well as God’s beloved creation. How does that make any sense? 

    Despite what Rennier suggests, pregnancy isn’t a miracle. Today, for most women in the developed world, children can be a choice. The VAST majority of the practitioners of religions opposed to artificial birth control, including Catholics, obviously use some form of birth control or family planning method. These parents (as well as Pope Francis) understand that they cannot create good lives for their children if they have more than their resources (time & money) can bear.  

    For those like Fr. Rennier with the will and means, why not consider providing for a child in need? He missed a great opportunity to encourage his flock and readers to change their thinking beyond themselves, as well as to set an example. 

    Rennier also referred to the Amercan decline in fertility. Contrary to economists’ fears about our current reduced fertility cycle, the U.S. still holds one of the highest fertility rates in the developed world. Moreover, global trends project world population to exceed 10 billion by 2100. These facts, and the impact on our climate and future environmental security, cannot be ignored. Should we disregard the Vatican’s position on sustainable development and the moral obligation to protect our planet from further species extinction and famine?

    More crowded societies also mean greater social instability and less of a voice for each of us in our bloated and dysfunctional democracies, the sort that produce leaders like Donald Trump. Father Rennier’s example and advice are of legitimate concern for the world at large. A man of God who contemplates spiritual questions daily, he should look beyond himself.

    It is important that all of us cast our gaze not only lovingly on the children we have, but also more broadly to those around us and further forward to future generations.

    TAKE ACTION: Email Michaelrennier@gmail.com, and urge him to encourage thoughtful family planning decisions, ones that consider the needs of all of God’s children, not just our own, and ask Pope Francis (@pontifex) to denounce his advice.

     

     

  • CONCERNED MOTHER URGES IVANKA TRUMP TO CHANGE COURSE ON CHILD CARE POLICY

    CONCERNED MOTHER URGES IVANKA TRUMP TO CHANGE COURSE ON CHILD CARE POLICY

    Erika Mathews, a mother concerned for the welfare of her child, wrote to Ivanka Trump today to urge her to champion a major federal policy shift that would protect all children.

    Read Erika’s plea to Ivanka here.

    • A recent study from Stanford University has found that efforts to mitigate climate change could yield trillions in economic benefits.
    • The best way to mitigate climate change is by choosing smaller families,
    • Given the study, Erika asked Ivanka to change course from her current preferred child care policy, to instead champion a new federal policy fully funding “529” educational savings accounts through a cooperative family planning system.
    • That would align with the trend toward smaller in the United States, but also augment it by including incentives that would shift the family planning from a focus on parents, to a focus on future children and their right to a fair start in life.
    • A recent wave of news stories have reflected on the clear trend in the United States towards parents choosing smaller families. While many of the articles suggested this trend might harm the economy, there are no studies showing the per capita cost to Americans of reduced fertility.

    Erika had this to say: “Environmental degradation and social inequity are the greatest threats to our children.” “Ivanka should consider championing a new policy. Parents have the right to protect their children’s future and our government should help them do that.”

    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.

  • Family Planning: Our Choice Is Clear

    Family Planning: Our Choice Is Clear

    Child-first, Fair Start family planning puts the interests of children before parents. As parents, don’t we want what is best for our children? That’s why we need to wait, plan, get help, and be ready before having kids. When kids are born with a fair start, not only do they have a better shot at succeeding, our communities as a whole benefit as well.

    Infographic titled The Benefits of Smaller Families with icons and illustrations showing benefits like achievement, environment, democracy, community, well-being, and gender equality for families with fewer children.
    What does this mean in simple terms? It means planning smaller families, which are more sustainable for the planet and society, with families in need getting the resources they deserve to give their kids a fair start in life.  

    But aren’t fertility rates dropping? Why do we need to change our family planning model and related policies?

    Yes, U.S. fertility rates are down slightly. But our population is actually exploding, and economists’ alarmist warnings are centered on the position that we should have more kids to create more taxpayers, workers and consumers. They are urging us to hurt kids, in the log run, in order to create wealth for elites. That approach treats children as objects, and drives economic inequality.

    Infographic titled The Consequences of Poor Family Planning, listing negative impacts such as crime, less democracy, climate impact, unmet basic needs, biocapacity issues, poverty, underachievement, and inequality.

    Our family planning choices affect everyone. We can make our world better for all kids by choosing to have smaller families and demanding the resources, that as parents, we all need.

    There is no doubt that if the average parent plans smaller families, where we work together to ensure every child gets a fair start in life, you and your kids’ future will be less crowded, cleaner, and safer. If we continue on our current path, we get the opposite.

    Read stories from families who have decided to help us down the right path: https://fairstartmovement.org/sustainablefamilies/

     

  • HAVING KIDS ASKS PRO-CHOICE MOVEMENT TO ADOPT FAIR START MODEL

    HAVING KIDS ASKS PRO-CHOICE MOVEMENT TO ADOPT FAIR START MODEL

    In an open letter sent today, Having Kids is urging NARAL Pro Choice America to break a universal taboo and adopt the Fair Start model as its family planning model. Having Kids is urging the change in policy and messaging, especially in the fight against Trump’s new “domestic gag rule,” because it will base the demand for the freedom and resources not to have children on a broader base of objective interests, and make that demand more compelling, if not irrefutable.

    Read the full letter here.

    Having Kids is urging NARAL to challenge Trump because his family planning policies threaten national security, and as such bring into question the legitimacy of his government, and the obligation of the people to rise up. Having Kids is urging NARAL to challenge Trump because families in need have a moral claim to a portion of his and his ilk’s wealth, in order to assure their children starts in life equitable to the starts in life wealthy kids are given.

    Anne Green, Executive Director of Having Kids, said this: “Reproductive freedom should account for the needs of future children, the community, and the environment. Recognizing that intensifies the demand for resources, to a level it deserves.”

  • Indiana Child Abuse: Take Action

    Indiana Child Abuse: Take Action

    Having Kids is petitioning Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, as well as state officials, to consider the possibility of an unusual order in the event an Indiana couple is convicted of child abuse or neglect.

    Read the full letter here. 

    In mid-April 2018, the Department of Child Service, in response to multiple anonymous phone calls, removed four children from a home in Greenfield, Indiana occupied by Christopher Smith and Chantelle Oliver.  According to court records, Smith allegedly engaged in regular physical and verbal abuse of the children including punching and slapping them, grabbed the children by the hair, and smacking them in the face. Per DCS records, the children were, at first, afraid to talk to investigators, fearing for their own safety.  One child stated that Smith once pushed her head into a wall, causing her nose to bleed. Smith was arrested and charged with multiple counts, including three felony counts of domestic battery on a person less than 14 years old. He has denied harming any of the children.

    Having Kids is urging state officials to consider a Fair Start court order, in the event of a conviction, temporarily prohibiting the couple from having additional children during the pendency of any probation in order to facilitate the couple’s rehabilitation and recovery, and also to prevent the neglect of any future children.

    “We waiting for kids to be abused, rather than preventing the abuse” said Anne Green, Executive Director of Having Kids. “It’s time to change the way we plan families” The model Fair Start order is noncoercive and seeks to strike a balance between the rights of parents and the needs of future children and the community.

    In 2016 alone, there were 28,430 victims of abuse or neglect in Indiana, an increase of 7.7% from 2015.[4]  Even more alarming, the number of fatalities as a result of child abuse and neglect more than doubled in Indiana in 2016 to 70 deaths (from 34 in 2015), making Indiana have the unfortunate distinction as the state with the highest percentage of increases in child-abuse-related deaths in the country.[5]  

    Take action: Tweet Gov. Holcomb at @GovHolcomb and politely ask him to consider our request.