#1255 Teresa Baron: The Ethics of Procreation, Pronatalism, and Antinatalism
RECORDED ON MARCH 2nd 2026.
Dr. Teresa Baron is an Assistant Professor at Nottingham University working on reproductive ethics and philosophy of parenthood. She is the author of The Philosopher’s Guide to Parenthood, Philosophy of the Family: Ethics, Identity and Responsibility (with Dr. Christopher Cowley), and The Artificial Womb on Trial. She is currently writing on the ethics of ectogenic research and editing a new Handbook of Philosophy and the Family for Routledge.
In this episode, we talk about the ethics of procreation. We discuss arguments for procreation based on impulse or instinct; arguments based on meaning or purpose; “everyone does it” kinds of arguments; economics and reproductive justice; wanting to have company in old age; and arguments from duty. We also talk about pronatalist policies and how they violate women’s reproductive rights. Finally, we discuss antinatalist arguments, and antinatalism as a philosophy.
Time Links:
Intro
The ethics of procreation
Arguments based on impulse or instinct
Arguments based on meaning or purpose
“Everyone does it” arguments
Economic and reproductive justice
Wanting to have company in old age
Arguments from duty
Pronatalism and women’s reproductive rights
Antinatalist arguments
Antinatalism as a philosophy
Follow Dr. Baron’s work!
Follow Dr. Baron’s work:
University page: https://tinyurl.com/yeytfrcd
Website: https://www.teresabaron.co.uk/
PhilPeople profile: https://tinyurl.com/2ecs3snk
The Artificial Womb on Trial: https://tinyurl.com/t3ckb2tw