Raised in a violent home by an alcoholic and regretful mother and mostly absent father, Steve knew from an early age that he did not want to become a parent. His journey as a young man from the U.S. to Venezuela led him to found a family planning organization serving rural women, work that brought him both purpose and healing. His choice to be childfree and vegan reflects enduring concerns about overpopulation, environmental limits, and animal rights, and has helped him build a life of meaning, community, and deep gratification.

See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript:

https://www.populationbalance.org/beyond-pronatalism-podcast/steve

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About Beyond Pronatalism

To have or not have kids is one of the biggest decisions we make in our lives, and yet how many of us know that we even have a choice about how we define and create our families?

Beyond Pronatalism host Nandita Bajaj interviews people from diverse backgrounds who are courageously and creatively navigating pronatalism - the powerful pressures to have children - whether from family, friends, or the culture at large. Through intimate conversations, they discuss how they are forging unconventional pathways to fulfillment, including redefining what family means to them - whether that means being childfree or childless, having biological children, adopting or fostering children or animals, or creating close-knit communities of friends and loved ones.

Beyond Pronatalism is brought to you by Population Balance - the only nonprofit organization advancing the rights and wellbeing of people, animals, and the planet by confronting pronatalism and other harmful ideologies.

Visit https://www.populationbalance.org/beyond-pronatalism-podcast to subscribe, learn more, and submit your story!

Episodes released every two weeks. Find us on Apple podcasts, Spotify, and all other podcast platforms.

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