Human Suffering

Coming into existence carries with it the inevitability of suffering and death and the risk of extreme suffering. It is understandable for antinatalists to want to do good by supporting efforts that humanely reduce the number of humans coming into existence. Indeed, we believe it is better not to create someone and leave them vulnerable to harm than to attempt to mitigate the harm we have exposed them to by creating them. As David Benatar said:

“It is curious that while good people go to great lengths to spare their children from suffering, few of them seem to notice that the one (and only) guaranteed way to prevent all the suffering of their children is not to bring those children into existence in the first place.”

We believe that an effective way to have such an impact is through supporting initiatives that address the same issues that have historically yielded a reduction in the global fertility rate. There are established charities already working on the issues of fertility planning and reducing child mortality which antinatalists can support to further their work. We have included a list of them below (predominantly addressing child mortality) that have been identified by independent charity evaluators to be effective.