For decades, British couples campaigned to have infertility treatments included among the treatments provided by the U.K.’s National Health Service. Even after the Service agreed to pay for treatments like in vitro fertilization, there remained a shortage of potential egg donors, so that many British couples had to go overseas in their quest to have a child.

Now, just imagine what they must think now as many young people in their peak child-bearing years are having themselves sterilized as an environmental statement. A recent story in the U.K.’s Daily Mail told readers about British women who refuse to have children because children are not “eco friendly.”

One of these women, Toni, works for an environmental group. She said that she “shudders with horror” at the thought of a “little hand slipping into hers—and a voice calling her Mummy.”

The “shudder” is caused by the thought of the child’s environmental impact. As Dave Barry likes to say, “I am not making this up.” I wish I were.

So, when Toni learned she was pregnant 10 years ago, she quickly had an abortion to “protect the planet.” Then, to make sure that such a “mistake” could not happen again, she had herself sterilized at age 27.

What did the child’s father think about all this? He sent her a “congratulations card” and later married her. Apparently, he agrees that “having children is selfish. It’s all about maintaining your genetic line at the expense of the planet . . . ”

Toni is not alone in her sentiments. Another woman named Sarah told the paper that, growing up, she “agonized over the perils” of things like “climate change” and “the loss of animal species.” This led her to decide that she would not have children. Continued...