I think I might be unironically be on team #defundtheABC ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-25/fertility-rates-in-china-dropping/103654528

  • Dr_Gabriel_Aby [none/use name]
    hexbear
    37
    2 months ago

    Wait so the policy is paid for child care, pre-natal and post-natal care, IVF paid for, and cash bonuses.

    The punishment for not getting pregnant is not having access to those things.

    Why would you need access to baby health care and a child stipend if you don’t have children?

    • came_apart_at_Kmart [he/him, comrade/them]
      hexbear
      23
      edit-2
      2 months ago

      in china it seems like somebody asked "What would encourage an individual to want to carry a child be a parent?"

      providing autonomy and agency for the masses through the provision of associated material needs? that's an invitation to trouble! porky-scared

      in the US, to increase birth rates, we use a multipronged strategy:

      • create precarious economic conditions that push people into pairbonded couples to afford single-occupancy housing options
      • stigmatize/criminalize gender deviant behaviors
      • discourage larger communal living with zoning restrictions
      • restrict family planning tools to the wealthy
      • abysmal to non-existent sex education

      porky-happy

      in this way, there will be many "accidents" that must be carried to term by people with limited resources wracked with shame and guilt, pushing them into even more exploitative arrangements to sell their labor. additionally, the child services / support systems for adoption and foster have been subject to decades of austerity cuts, so the guilt of leaving a child in a "broken" system prevents many from surrendering custody. of course, healthy babies of light complexion are sought out by wealthy whites for rearing/indoctrinating.

    • spectre [he/him]
      hexbear
      3
      2 months ago

      Don't you still have access to those things even if you aren't pregnant?

      • Dr_Gabriel_Aby [none/use name]
        hexbear
        4
        2 months ago

        Yes, you still have healthcare, but not for your non existent baby. I don’t understand what the article is complaining about.