Gen Z, millennials speak out on reluctance to become parents

Overwhelming student debt. The climate crisis. Low salaries. Members of the Gen Z and millennial generations cite them all as reasons they don’t want to bear or raise children. Their reluctance has helped drive down the birth rate in the United States. (Evey Wilson/For WABE)

At 24, El Johnson has made up her mind that she won’t bear children, though she and her girlfriend haven’t ruled out adoption.

The graduate student who works in legal services in Austin, Texas, has a list of reasons for not wanting to give birth: the climate crisis and a genetic health condition among them.

“I don’t think it’s responsible to bring children into this world,” Johnson said. “There are already kids who need homes. I don’t know what kind of world it’s going to be in 20, 30, 40 years.”