Abstract

This paper provides an ecofeminist response to Christine Overall’s moral argument in her 2012 volume, Why Have Children?, which recommends that individuals in the global West ought to reproduce at a replacement rate in light of environmental concerns. Overall’s recommendation does not adequately account for the sociopolitical context in which human beings have children. The ecofeminist response is one which recommends increased access to education, and sexual education in particular, of low-income women and women of color. Increased educational opportunities for these key groups will lower birth rates by allowing women to choose how and when to have children, as well as by improving access to financial and career incentives for delaying childbirth.