Fair Start Movement

Category: Calls to Action & Petitions

  • Population Control or Responsible Parenting? Take Action to Protect Your Future.

    Population Control or Responsible Parenting? Take Action to Protect Your Future.

    Bernie Sanders grabbed headlines this week by saying that he would consider policies around population control, given our degrading environment.

    Why does the debate matter? Smaller families working together to plan a fair start for every child is the best way to protect kids, our environment, and our democracies – ten to twenty times more effective than anything else we can do. And yes, parents have a moral right and responsibility to protect their kids. If the government won’t do it they will.

    What does that mean? They are morally obligated to protect children’s future by targeting concentrations of resources that could be used to fund Fair Start family planning, targets that – given the state of emergency – have no legitimate claim to the resources they are hoarding. Candidates and celebrities should be talking about a peaceful process for this form of intergenerational justice – not about the misnomer of population control. Instead it’s about becoming free and equal people, through Fair Start family planning – the first and overriding human right. 

    Family planning is the only form of truly fundamental change. Period. Engage with the candidates and with celebrities, make them answer the hard questions by any mean effective, tell us how you did it, and we will publicize your story.

    Tell Candidates to Answer the Real Questions

    Population is not some amorphous thing. It’s about us, it’s about the people around us, and the children being born every second around the world. It’s about creating a “We the People,” where free communities self-govern, and make the rules they live under. Candidates are either promoting that process through Fair Start family planning, or they are degrading our environment and our democracies by ignoring future generations. These are the key questions: What is the minimum standard of living each child should be guaranteed before they are born? How will we level the playing field between kids born rich and born poor, and instead give every child a fair start in life? How will we encourage smaller families where we can invest more in each child, and rebuild a safe and natural environment?

    TAKE ACTION: Tell Bernie to start talking about kids’ right to a fair start in life. It’s about people, not population. What standard of living do the candidates children enjoy, and wouldn’t it be great if every child had those things? Bernie – tell us how you will make that happen through better family planning policies. Tweet him @BernieSanders, or engage with him in person.

    TAKE ACTION: Tell Naomi Klein to drop the false dichotomy – population is not an exogenous issue. It’s the “we” in all of her statements. The state of the world today, the people in it, the inequality, the climate crisis, etc., are all the product of family planning policies of the past. Humans don’t fall from the sky. Let’s start to get ahead of the problem. You cannot be egalitarian and not change our current isolationist model of family planning to Fair Start family planning instead. Tweet her at @NaomiAKlein, or engage with her in person.

    Tell Celebrities to Start Modeling Responsible Behavior

    It’s not just about politics. Celebrities have a massive influence on family planning decisions around the world, and while some – like Harry and Meghan – are stepping up, others – like the Baldwins – are not. Celebrities probably have a greater impact on family planning decisions than politics. They need to answer the questions posed above too.

    TAKE ACTION: Tell the Baldwins to explain publicly how they intend to help all families give their kids a fair start in life. Tweet Alec at @AlecBaldwin, or engage with the couple in person.

    The future is defined by the people being born today. Step up for your and your family’s future.

     

     

  • Urge Surfrider Foundation to Address Family Planning

    Urge Surfrider Foundation to Address Family Planning

    Climate change and other population-driven crises are the greatest threats to our oceans. Better family planning policies are the greatest solution.

    So why is it still taboo to talk about? Why do so many concerned parents have to remain anonymous in order to speak out?

    Urge the Surfrider Foundation to lead the way to transparency and sustainability by talking a stand on the need for better family planning policies. Tweet @surfrider and urge them to consider the letter below.

    A letter to Dr. Chad Nelsen at the Surfrider Foundation shares a story about the authors son learning to surf, alongside two child drawings: one of a surfer riding a wave, and another of a turtle swimming underwater. A young student stands next to a science project display about algal blooms, pointing to information and images on a poster board in a classroom setting. A letter addressed to a leader, urging action on climate change by promoting smaller families to reduce impact on oceans. It is signed by Anonymous mother in California at the bottom.

  • Why Do Women Get Pushed to Have Kids? Ask the People Doing It.

    Why Do Women Get Pushed to Have Kids? Ask the People Doing It.

    The science is clear that delaying pregnancy, planning ahead, and working together to invest more in every child is the most effective path towards sustainable development. 

    So why are women still getting asked when they will be having kids?

    The regressive view of women as mothers-in-waiting persists partly because so many public figures are pushing it. 

    Jeff Jacoby is one of the loudest voices pushing women to have more kids, and to thereby accelerate climate change, species extinction, and a host of other ecological ills. And it’s not just about nature. Unsustainable family planning is the hidden cause of social crises as well, from rampant child abuse to growing inequality. 

    So why should women have more kids, according to Jeff, who criticized Meghan and Harry for  declaring they would stop at two kids for environmental reasons? Jeff, who himself only has two kids, had this helpful bit of information:

    The Talmud records that when the enslavement of the Hebrews in ancient Egypt grew unbearable, their leaders advised couples to stop having babies — why raise more children to face a life of slavery? Eventually one of those leaders was persuaded he was wrong, and that childrearing should go on even in the teeth of murderous oppression. So he and his wife had another baby. That baby, named Moses, became the liberator who led his people to freedom.

    Jeff goes on to claim that the solution to population-driven climate change is to create more people in the hopes that one of the children will have a solution to the problem. He then credits population growth for a lot of modern advancements. In reality, progress comes from investing in people, not just creating as many as possible and hoping for the best.

    Not All Women Will Be Mothers 

    Regardless – the point is this: Jeff is ensuring a culture where women are pushed to be mothers. He’s doing it for religious reasons, while hiding behind nonsense arguments, and at a time where doing so is a manifest threat to the welfare and freedom of future generations. That goes beyond free speech to something worse than climate change denial – towards encouraging the exacerbation of a manifest threat to our species.

    Parents who care about their kids should stand up to mouthpieces like Jeff. What does he tell his kids, Caleb and Micah, about climate change? Does he tell them that the destruction of our atmosphere is God’s will? Does he tell them that child abuse, vast inequality, and levels of education that bring down democracies come from above? Jeff should answer these questions. Why? Because he’s forcing his view on your kids future too. What we do now will impact the wellbeing of future generations in ways not seen before.

    Ask Jeff to answer these basic questions by tweeting him at @Jeff_Jacoby or message him on FB at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jeff-Jacoby/123656506578, and stand up to the men who push women to have kids, and thereby endanger our future. 

     

  • Deadly Heat Waves? Take Action Against Those Most Responsible

    Deadly Heat Waves? Take Action Against Those Most Responsible

    July 2019 is likely to be the hottest month ever on Earth. A heatwave is currently settled over the U.S., and it’s deadly. 

    What’s worse, these extreme temperatures brought about by climate change  trigger an increase in emissions. Our world’s explosion in population and poor family planning has caused a catastrophic feedback loop.

    When we look at climate change, we know human impact is the problem, but we don’t all have the same impact. While there are of course things individuals can and should do to address the problem, the fact is that some people are more responsible than others for the large-scale destruction of our environment. 

    Yes, the average person in a developed nation is partly responsible due to consumerism and technology that puts pressure on the environment. But for generations, CEOs and other power players have opted to suppress science, progress, and environmental stewardship in favor of knowingly pushing the environment toward a point of no return. 

    These people are more responsible for the threat climate change poses to you and your family than most other people on earth.

    Now that we are facing an uncertain future, shouldn’t we ask for the most action from those who are most responsible for the problem?

    Let’s ask the CEOs to fund the most comprehensive and effective thing out there: Fair Start family planning reforms to help reverse the damage they’ve done.

    Here’s how it works: Communities offer substantial resources, like guaranteed minimum incomes, to future parents. Then, in exchange, parents plan smaller families. By doing so, they can invest more in each child and have a smaller impact on the planet than they otherwise would have with a large family. Family planning and climate change are intersectional. An increasingly crowded planet means more impact on the planet.

    Nothing will change if we don’t demand it. Now it’s time to use your voice.

    Sincerely,

    Erika and Willow

    The Phelps-Mathews Family
    The Phelps-Mathews Family

     

    Join Erika and Willow to TAKE ACTION.

    Pick one of these CEOs, or another person who’s profiting off the destruction of our kids’ futures, and urge them to direct their money toward giving kids a Fair Start. They owe it to the next generation to undo the harm they’ve caused. We can’t wait to hear what you do: email us at info@fairstartmovement.org.

     

     

     

  • Urge Grist to Talk About Sustainable Family Planning

    Urge Grist to Talk About Sustainable Family Planning

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    It’s great that Grist, the environmentally minded media outlet, is recognizing that media isn’t doing their jobs when they spend a lot more time covering news of the royal baby than climate change. But is it time for Grist to aggressively report on better family planning policies as the most comprehensive and effective way to mitigate the variety of harms climate change is causing?  

    Environmentalists have long treated family planning as a taboo subject. It’s glaringly absent from the Green New Deal. But it’s time to break taboo. The businesses that are destroying our environment are breaking it, and urging parents to produce more babies to increase consumption, and to increase a glut of cheap labor and taxpayers for the future. 

    We know how to fix this.

    A better family planning model and policies – with a focus on smaller and more equitable families – are likely the most effective solution to most of the world’s crises today. Remodeling family planning is the most comprehensive and effective way to promote the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and in some cases proves twenty times more effective than other reforms. Simply stated, the current family planning model used by the United Nations is the fundamental source of the problem. It ensures unsustainable population growth in a way that degrades equality, democracy, and our environment.

    This archaic model predates our understanding of climate change, the impact of early childhood development, the way birth conditions and early childhood can exacerbate inequality, etc. Many better models have been proposed, including one by leading political theorist Sarah Conly, and Having Kids’ own model, the Fair Start approach (detailed here).

    Take action:

    Contact Grist CEO here and urge him to help Grist to break the taboo and aggressively report on better family planning policies. It’s the most comprehensive and effective way to mitigate the harms of climate change. 

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  • Climate Crisis: Act Now to Protect the Future for Kids

    Climate Crisis: Act Now to Protect the Future for Kids

    Despite attempts the United Nations and others to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, levels are now at an all time high. The growth in emissions tracks world population growth, which is the greatest driver of climate change and a threat multiplier.

    What can you do to protect yourself and the ones you love?

    Understand that you have a fundamental human right to resources to ensure your child a fair start in life. Choosing to have a smaller family is, without comparison, the best way to mitigate the threats of climate change. The right to nature and a fair start in life is the first and supreme human right. If you are willing to plan responsibly, you have a moral claim against those that are able to pay – including the government and wealthy individuals.

    Demand your rights, and help others make their demands. Communities who are most impacted by climate change, and are literally being driven from their homes, and morally entitled to target those most responsible for Fair Start funding (which would include offsetting the impacts of climate change). Help them do so, by directly confronting those responsible, or calling for governments to recognize and protect the fundamental right to a fair start in life. Would-be mothers who are concerned about the future, and are forgoing having children, have a moral claim against those who are creating the predicament. Engage those people directly, and speak out against government policies that promote having larger families that threaten our future.

    Having Kids means caring for the future, and that means taking effective action now. Let’s change to conversation from what parents want to what kids need. 

  • Sen. Mike Lee is a Threat to National Security: Take Action

    Sen. Mike Lee is a Threat to National Security: Take Action

    Senator Mike Lee is getting attention for his solution to climate change: to just have more kids.

    Senator Lee is suggesting that Americans arbitrarily have larger families. He is actually promoting exacerbating climate change, and all the risks of a larger human population in a less hospitable future environment. Having a larger family is the most effective way to increase greenhouse gas emissions. Given that climate change is a threat to the security of the United States, we are wondering who – exactly – Sen. Lee represents? 

    Does he tell his three children that he’s for worsening the climate change that will reduce the quality of their lives? What is he doing to ensure proper care for the thousands of children wallowing in failing foster care systems around the country, including in Sen. Lee’s home state of Utah? Should we simply ignore them and just have more kids?

    Why should we follow the laws made by someone who is a threat to our future? 

    Take action: Call Sen. Lee and ask him to retract his comments and promote Fair Start family planning.

  • Georgia State Rep Moves to Eliminate Abortion – Take Action

    Georgia State Rep Moves to Eliminate Abortion – Take Action

    Georgia state representative Ed Setzler said he is moving to virtually eliminate the ability to terminate pregnancy. The bill, supported solely by male lawmakers, would force women to parent against their will and force children into the world with parents who are not ready or able to provide for them.

    Read more: Why Wait to Have Kids?

    Forcing children to be born perpetuates the cycle of poverty and inequality and increases the risk of abuse and neglect. Furthermore, it drives the unsustainable population growth that threatens the future for all of us.

    Contact Rep. Seltzer at (404) 656-7857 and ask how he plans to ensure that the children who would be born because of his policies receive a fair start in life? Will they get the privileges his four kids are getting? Why not?

    What would you do to protect future kids against manifest threats like Ed?

    Stand up and confront those who threaten our future. It’s time to put children’s needs first and ensure a fair start in life – it is a human right.

  • Ask Florida Senator Lauren Book to Prevent Child Abuse With SB90

    Ask Florida Senator Lauren Book to Prevent Child Abuse With SB90

    This week marks the beginning of Florida’s 2019 Legislative Session. Legislators have until May 3 – just 60 days – to consider thousands of bills and decide on what issues are most important to Floridians. Having Kids applauds Florida Senator Lauren Book for her commitment to protecting Florida’s children from abuse and rehabilitating those who have suffered through legislative efforts and her work with Lauren’s Kids.

    Most recently, Senator Book introduced Senate Bill (“SB”) 90. This bill would establish “early childhood court programs” to “serve the needs of infants and toddlers in dependency court.” Dependency courts hear cases about children who are abused or neglected, and, in Florida, this number is staggering. In 2016 alone, nearly 42,000 children were abused or neglected in the
    State of Florida (and these are just reported cases). (We also recently asked Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to develop policies, and encourage legislation, that enables judges to issue Fair Start Orders. Read our letter to him here.)

    SB 90 would serve a tremendously important need – to have the justice system work to “restructure the way the community responds to the needs of maltreated children” through having court systems that employ a multidisciplinary approach to help heal maltreated children (both mentally and physically) and implements steps to ensure the rebuilding of the child-parent relationship.

    Having Kids commends Senator Book for introducing legislation that puts the needs of children and their well-being as a top priority. However, we encourage Senator Book to take her important bill one step farther and include Fair Start Order language as an additional part of this bill. Such legislation would allow judges, in cases of truly egregious child abuse, to issue non-coercive orders preventing abusive and neglectful parents from having additional children for limited time periods like during the period of probation. These orders, in the context of early childhood court programs, would allow parents and their healing children to focus on necessary rehabilitative steps to repair the child-parent relationship and protect future children. Shouldn’t we work to prevent abuse rather than simply react to it? Fair Start orders do just that.

    If you live in Florida, please call or send a brief message to Senator Book thanking her for her tireless work on behalf of children and asking her to consider adding Fair Start Order language to SB 90. Reach her at book.lauren@flsenate.gov
    or (850) 487-5032.