Why Antinatalism and Procreative Beneficence Do Not Mix.
1Department of Social Sciences, University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszow, Rzeszow, Poland.
Bioethics
|December 31, 2025
Summary
This study critiques the application of antinatalism to procreative ethics, finding it fundamentally incompatible with the Principle of Procreative Beneficence (PPB). Emerging reproductive technologies also predominantly support pro-birth stances.
Area of Science:
- Bioethics
- Philosophy of Reproduction
- Antinatalism Studies
Background:
- Marcus T. L. Teo proposed an antinatalist justification for the Principle of Procreative Beneficence (PPB).
- This connection between antinatalism and PPB warrants critical examination.
- Understanding the ethical implications of procreative decisions is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critically evaluate Teo's argument linking antinatalism and PPB.
- To demonstrate the untenability of applying antinatalism to support PPB.
- To analyze the relationship between reproductive technologies and procreative ethics.
Main Methods:
- Philosophical analysis of antinatalism and procreative ethics.
- Conceptual critique of the Principle of Procreative Beneficence (PPB).
- Examination of the ethical character of emerging reproductive technologies.
Main Results:
- PPB is identified as a fundamentally pronatalist principle, unrelated to antinatalist philosophy.
- The potential suffering averted by PPB is extremely limited.
- Emerging reproductive technologies are predominantly pronatalist, not antinatalist.
Conclusions:
- Teo's attempt to align antinatalism with PPB is philosophically untenable.
- Antinatalism's core tenet is that existence is never worth initiating due to inherent suffering.
- The ethical frameworks of reproduction and emerging technologies lean heavily towards pronatalism.
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