EPISODE 159--HEADLINES

Childless not by Choice

Hello, and welcome to episode 159 of the Childless not by Choice Podcast. My name is Civilla Morgan. My mission is to recognize and speak to childless not by choice women and men around the world, reminding you, us, that we can live joyful, relevant, fulfilled, childless not by choice, lives.

Whether you have children or not, thank you for tuning in!

What is today’s show about?

Headlines

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Body of episode:

So, it looks like, we meaning childless not by choice and child free people, are in the news again! It seems like we are always in the headlines, doesn’t it? And not usually for anything positive. There is always commentary, and suggestions, all un-asked for.

Well, in the recent headlines, the word deplorable was used, and the term commercial contract...in the context of those who choose surrogacy to have the gift of a child. I always believed surrogacy to be a gift. Yes, the woman carrying the baby typically gets paid, but why shouldn’t she? And yes, many countries have rules and laws surrounding these agreements. It’s not typically an act or process that is done willy-nilly. Of course like anything else, there are people who opt for the wrong or illegal way of doing things, so why would surrogacy be any different? Well, because a human being is involved. I get it, but calling the act deplorable? That’s kinda intense.

DEPLORABLE

COMMERCIAL CONTRACT

CHILDLESS ELDERLY

RETIREMENT

I get that there are people who like to cut corners and do things for the wrong reasons, but ‘commercial contract’ sounds so, well, non-human.

And I really believe the word deplorable needs to be retired–or just used as little as possible. It is such a harsh word and I don’t think we realize that.

I know we all make mistakes, misuse words and verbiage; we all mess up. But I think the bigger issue becomes when we do not realize how we are affecting people by our words. Our opinions, our words affect people. The term ‘words matter’ has been thrown around a bit in the last few years, to no avail. Some people just do not understand how their words do matter, or how their platform fits into the scheme of the world.

I don’t believe most people mean to be mean. Some people on the other hand, I don’t believe they care how their words affect the listener or the reader, or the ones directly affected by their words. In other words, People may not realize what their words are doing, they have probably not done any research.

Research such as, why do women use surrogates? Why are people childless? Could it be some of them just could not have kids? Before making comments about how the childless fit into the world. What contributions do we make?

You know my story. I wanted children so badly I would have done just about anything to have one. But I also believe that people who did not want kids shouldn’t have to have them. I mean why are we trying to tell people what to do., How to live their lives. Whether or not to have children. Why is this happening? I realize that some commentary may come from the fact that the overall birth rate in the Western world is generally lower than the leadership machine of any given country might like, but where does it end when we start telling people what to do? Making people feel a certain way for not wanting children or not being able to have children.

I had already recorded this episode when I felt like I needed to dig deeper to find out why these comments were made. I searched for context. I couldn’t find any. But I just can’t believe these comments just popped up. There had to be a reason. If I figure it out sometime in the future I will let you know. But for now, this is all I got. They just decided this was their opinion so they said so. But in this world of social media, now more than ever, we really have to think about what we say. No matter how small or how large our platform.

A few announcements please:

• Patreon:

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• Apple now provides transcripts!

Apple will now be providing transcripts! I am excited about this because I know there are people who are not able to consume podcasts by listening. There is a link in the show notes that gives the back story and instructions on how to obtain the transcripts.

https://podcasters.apple.com/support/5316-transcripts-on-apple-podcasts

Research links:

https://thedispatch.com/article/surrogacy-is-good-for-women-and-good-for-families/

https://www.npr.org/2024/01/09/1223771148/pope-francis-surrogacy-criticism#:~:text=%22I%20deem%20deplorable%20the%20practice,speech%20to%20diplomats%20on%20Monday.

https://medium.com/illumination/the-dangerous-words-of-elon-musk-incites-hatred-and-division-against-the-childfree-942e5b613406

https://www.businesstoday.in/technology/news/story/elon-musk-support-restricting-voting-rights-for-people-without-children-388215-2023-07-05

Articles/links of interest:

https://www.healthday.com/healthpro-news/bone-and-joint/men-with-inflammatory-joint-diseases-seem-to-have-more-children

https://www.news18.com/viral/california-couple-chooses-child-free-life-says-its-unaffordable-for-them-8784475.html

https://www.gistreel.com/woman-loses-twin-babies-to-church-after-15-years-of-waiting/

My contact information: Website: www.childlessnotbychoice.net and www.civillamorgan.com Facebook: booksbycivillamorgan Twitter: @civilla1 Instagram: @joyandrelevance Pinterest: Civilla M. Morgan, MSM LinkedIn: Civilla Morgan, MSM https://www.teepublic.com/stores/childless-not-by-choice

QUOTES FROM THIS EPISODE:

‘It’s what we do with OUR story.’

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