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Ana Kasparian defends Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez against critics of her views on procreation in the face of climate change

By Nina Steele 

Ana KasparianWhen I wrote about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez asking a legitimate question about procreation in the face of climate change, I mentioned her courage for asking that question in the first place. Population growth is an issue most politicians would rather not touch, because of the potential backlash. It’s not a coincidence that most, if not all politicians, are keen to be photographed kissing babies. Being seen as a defender of the traditional idea of the family is a big deal for politicians, and seen as a potential vote winner.

Very few politicians can get away with asking uncomfortable questions about procreation, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is one of those politicians. Her popularity is such that, she can get away with pretty much anything, as far as her supporters are concerned. Even though her intervention was widely reported at the time, there was no major backlash, apart from some predictable voices on the right.

One of those voices is that of Abby Huntsman, who, as a mother of one and who also happens to be expecting twins, interpreted Ocasio-Cortez intervention as a question that is asking about “doing away with the human race”. That’s of course not what Ocasio-Cortez was asking. She was specifically addressing the worries that some millennials have, about the kind of future that awaits any child they may have.

Ana Kasparian, co-host of the online news show The Young Turks, herself a millennial (she is 32), came to Ocasio-Cortez defence. As a married woman, who is currently living happily childfree, she said: “I think about climate change. Today’s unbearable and seemingly endless political divisiveness. The cost of college. The cost of childcare. Income inequality, and a host of other issues that convinced me that my own child wouldn’t have a good life in today’s climate”. She goes on to say: “My instinct is to have kids. But instinct often clash with critical thinking. Is it moral to bring kids into a planet that’s suffering from extreme weather conditions, exacerbated by climate change? Is it moral to bring new life into the world, who would inevitably experience the near impossibility of upward economic mobility due to a rigged financial system”? She concludes her argument and defence of Ocasio-Cortez by saying: “You can call couples like me and my husband selfish, because going through all the trials and tribulations of today is already stressful enough for us. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be consistently and constantly worried about my own kids and what they’re going through”.

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