Cav's Place

These days, I found myself randomly thinking about what vows could a childfree person be said to take in support of their choice. Knowing me, that resulted in a somewhat complicated text, with multiple variants and parts, covering different situations. This is more of an exercise and perhaps not to be taken quite so seriously, though I tried to make it as fitting and encompassing as I could.
What you’ll see below are the three possible parts of such an oath. The first part, which practically provides a very basic definition of a heterosexual person who does not want to breed, as well as of their resulting sexual behavior, is somewhat more complicated. It has two slightly different versions, one for females and one for males, the differing portions being underlined and split by a slash. You’ll also see a piece of text between parentheses at the start of said first part, which is written like that because it obviously only applies to people who are sterile, whether as a result of a sterilization procedure or not. The second part is for those who are aware of the negative effects of the current human population and are willing to spread the message and perhaps even get more involved in solving this problem. As such, it is not suitable for those who have chosen to be childfree for purely personal reasons and do not wish to get involved in the larger issue. As for the third part, it is meant for the people who truly want to have nothing to do with children, whether because they represent the aggravation of the overpopulation problem or simply because they can’t stand their behavior, or in fact for any other reason. Personally, I can’t quite see how can someone desire to include the second part in their potential oath but leave the third out, but I’m aware that there are plenty like that, so that’s why I put the two separately.

First part: “I swear to never have any children of my own and to make sure that all of my long-term sexual partners are fully aware of this fact. (To the best of my knowledge, I currently am completely sterile and will never do anything with the specific intent of changing this fact. However, if I’ll ever become aware of the existence of any risk of pregnancy / causing a pregnancy,) I will consider undergoing a permanent sterilization procedure, though I am in no way obliged to ever go through with it. For as long as any risk of pregnancy / causing a pregnancy will exist, I will do my best to use effective contraception, strongly favoring the methods that have little to no negative impact on the frequency or enjoyment of sexual activity for either myself or my partner(s). If, despite my best efforts, I will nevertheless get pregnant / cause a pregnancy, I will terminate the pregnancy / spare no effort in helping my partner terminate it within the first trimester without fail, regardless of the obstacles I will face / and in a way that will cause her the least possible discomfort. If she will prove uncertain or unwilling to do so, I will first strongly advise and then, if required, pressure her by any means necessary, doing my best to ensure that the child will not be born. In such an event, even if I had previously decided that it was not a suitable solution for me, I will once again very seriously consider undergoing a permanent sterilization procedure.”

Second part: “Being fully aware of the negative impact the current human population has on the world, I am also fully aware of the need to reduce it in an ethical manner. As that implies not increasing the number of deaths, neither by directly killing people nor by withholding necessary aid, I am aware that what is required is drastically reducing the number of births in every single part of the world, regardless of the current local or national fertility rates. I will strive to spread this awareness, while also offering my support to other childfree individuals, regardless of their reasons for making this choice. I will not allow those who, whether for selfish interests or for any other reasons, claim to disagree with me to wear me down or silence me. I will express my views in public, advise and even pressure those within my circle of influence, and also support the efforts of the groups, organizations or authorities that aim to rapidly and drastically reduce the number of births in any given area or in the world as a whole.”

Third part: “Though I am fully aware that many children who have already been born need loving parents, I will never personally adopt a child. In addition, I will not share a home or workspace with any child or children for any significant length of time, regardless of whether or not I’d be expected to care for or directly interact with them in any way. I will also clearly explain my stance to all my friends, as well as to any relatives and acquaintances who appear to desire to remain in contact with me, expressing my firm disapproval, possibly by completely ending contact, in case any of them will have or plan to have children, regardless of any other factors.”

This would be pretty much it, or at least what I came up with so far. Remember what I said at the beginning, namely that it’s more of an exercise and perhaps not to be taken quite so seriously. It’s more or less the vow I could be said to have taken myself, only made to apply to as many different people and situations as possible by splitting it in three parts and adding the necessary alternate wording for females in the first one. For those who are wondering, said first part assumes a heterosexual scenario because homosexual relationships can’t naturally result in children being born, so the only vow homosexual childfree individuals would need to take is to never undergo any procedures meant to artificially generate a pregnancy, which I believe should go without saying.