Following the close of New Zealand’s so-called Fertility Week, I am left chewing on two notable points: Women’s fertility is at an all time low; Men’s sperm count has approximately halved over past decades.
Obviously, at least as I see it, this is nature’s way of regulating the planet’s burgeoning population – it makes perfect sense that human fertility should be dropping off at around the same time that Earth’s population is at risk of reaching an unsustainable level – yet the Medical Profession is using science to ensure that any person who does wish to procreate – big or small, young or old, clever or daft, attractive or ill-favoured – is able to do just this.
Forget ‘natural selection’ and ‘survival of the fittest’, as compassionate human beings we seem to uphold the belief that – irrespective of gene quality, physical aptitude, medical history or indeed, basic human goodness; even in this time where it is becoming apparent that the issue of ‘too many people’ is destined to be the downfall of mankind – breeding is still every person’s right..?
For years men’s sperm count has been not only dwindling, those sperm that do remain in existence are becoming progressively lethargic, meaning a swimmer’s chances of coming home to a protein-rich feed of egg are lower today than ever before; add to that, cases of endometriosis – a condition which will likely affect a woman’s ability to reproduce – are at an all time high (further evidence that Mother Nature is crying out for reprieve) yet Medical Science is doing everything in its power – then repeating this act as many times as is necessary – to ensure that every woman, even those clearly fated to never give birth, has the opportunity to make a baby or two.
Surely, as people of the Human Race we have noticed the massive increase in the number of homosexual couples across the world (that’s right folks, ‘homosexual’ denotes male and female), which surely leads us to deduce that the conventional (breeding) pair of man and woman, at least in the eyes of our increasingly conservative Mother Nature, is becoming less conducive to Her future survival; yet bizarrely we now have same-sex couples raising children, which mightn’t actually be so bad if they adopted – of course our selfish human nature won’t stand for that – but ridiculously the majority of modern same-sex couples are out there harvesting sperm and/or eggs then going out and making a brand spanking new, albeit largely artificial, baby.
Additionally confronting is the way that Political Correctness has become such a large part of human breeding; hundreds of years ago the weak or disabled among us were considered inferior, were given less opportunity at life thus were much less likely to procreate than the strong – hence natural selection. Thousands of years ago children born with disabilities or malformations, within a few years of life – sometimes immediately upon birth – were mercilessly sacrificed to the gods, which might also be considered an effective form of selective breeding.
Today, in the animal kingdom, if you are weak, simply, you will not survive. If you are a weak male, unequivocally, you will not breed. This perpetuates a premium lineage, breeding a strong gene-pool, ensuring optimal future success.
Today though we celebrate our lesser-able individuals; we ensure they have every opportunity at life, and of course we encourage breeding regardless of circumstance.
Today we have impoverished African nations where, despite having none of the wherewithal required to raise children, there are mothers who are compelled to continuously add to their brood, and who then despair because they cannot feed their youngest.
Today we have an industry dedicated to curing or mitigating the effects of disease; thus because there are no longer such high numbers succumbing to these terrible illnesses, many of the people who, twenty years ago, would be dead are not, meaning that global turnover – the birth/death ratio inherent to this world’s survival – has been thrown severely out of equilibrium.
Today we have criminals who, upon leaving prison, despite their violent/thieving/abusive/shitheaded histories, seem to have no trouble finding a nicely damaged woman willing to mother their child/ren thus prolonging this toxic gene-pool; as ‘people’ we put so much weight in ‘human rights’, ‘humane treatment of man’, ‘equal rights’ and such, it appears to be a truth that either we are genuinely overlooking or simply we refuse to see, but for some folk, breeding ought to be rendered a physical impossibility.
Today procreation is considered a right that we believe every person on Earth ought to be granted; I believe we ought to take a look around our planet and perhaps rethink that liberty.
Article by Tim Walker
Edited by Rick Lass Breiding
Photography by Will Callous Awl