‘A very deranged idea’: JD Vance says it’s ‘deranged’ to not have children due to climate change

J. D. Vance says that it is “deranged” and “bizarre” to not have children due to climate change or for any political reason.

Vance, who was selected as Donald Trump’s running mate for the 2024 Presidential Election, is known for his extreme views on children and families. He is among the Republicans and conservatives who harbor disdain for anyone who, for whatever reason, chooses not to have children. Vance has earned criticism for making disparaging remarks about people, especially women, who don’t have children, including calling Kamala Harris a “childless cat lady” and claiming childless people are “deranged” and “psychotic.” Recently, he claimed that America is “pathologically anti-child” simply because he observed people getting annoyed with misbehaving children in public.

His extreme views and fearmongering over people choosing not to have children are concerning. After all, choosing to give birth is a very personal decision. There can be any number of reasons why someone chooses not to have a child, ranging from infertility to health complications to fear or uncertainty about the future. Encouraging hatred and mocking of individuals who choose not to have children without acknowledging the numerous valid, private reasons one may have for not giving birth is extremely dangerous. When confronted with some of his most despicable comments about childless women, Vance claimed he doesn’t think everyone who doesn’t have children is deranged — just those who make that decision because of climate change.

JD Vance clarifies who he thinks is “deranged” and “sociopathic”

During an interview with The New York Times, Vance was asked if he truly meant his past comments about how people who choose not to have children are “deranged, “psychotic,” or “sociopathic.” In response, he claimed his comments were aimed at people who are concerned about having children due to climate change. According to him, those are the “childless cat ladies” he was calling out. He stated:

I think you see it sometimes in the political conversation, people saying, well, maybe we shouldn’t have kids because of climate change. You know, when I’ve used this word sociopathic? Like, that, I think, is a very deranged idea: the idea that you shouldn’t have a family because of concerns over climate change. Doesn’t mean you can’t worry about climate change, but in the focus on childless cat ladies, we missed the substance of what I said.

The interviewer asked him to clarify if he was, indeed, saying it’s “sociopathic” if women “don’t have children because they’re worried about climate change.” Vance confirmed this, stating it is “bizarre” and a “really, really crazy way to think about the world.” While he acknowledged he doesn’t think this is Harris’ reason for not having children, he still conceded, “What I would say is that sometimes Kamala Harris, she hasn’t quite jumped over the ‘You shouldn’t have kids because of climate change.’ But I think in some of her interviews, she’s suggested there’s a reasonableness to that perspective.” Meanwhile, he concluded, “If your political ideas motivate you to not have children, then that is a bizarre way of looking at the world.”

Vance seemed to think he was reassuring Americans that his comments had been misinterpreted and his stance wasn’t too extreme. However, his comments don’t offer any reassurance. The correct response to whether he thinks people who don’t have children are “deranged” should be a resounding “no.” Instead, he suggests that whether people who don’t have children should be judged or hated depends on their specific reasons. Hence, he’s presenting a loophole for right-wing extremists to continue discriminating against, attacking, and name-calling people who don’t have children. However, the reason why someone chooses not to have children isn’t anyone’s business. Women and men who choose not to have children aren’t doing anything wrong. This fact doesn’t somehow change if the reason for their personal decision is climate change or politics.

Also, Vance’s comments highlight the biggest issue with pro-lifers, which is that they solely care about bringing people into the world but not about the quality of life of the people they bring into this world. People who choose not to have children because of climate change or for political reasons aren’t “deranged.” Instead, they are very selfless, thoughtful people who think critically about whether there will be a future for their children to grow up in or whether it will be a good future. Climate change isn’t the only uncertainty in the future. In America, conservatives are vying to destroy democracy as we know it with Project 2025 and propel citizens into a nightmarish, dystopian existence. The chances of declining quality of life in the future aren’t some unhinged conspiracy theory — it’s a real possibility people must face and make decisions based on.

One would think the leaders of America would listen to citizens’ concerns about the future and work to find ways to dispel these fears and uncertainties. Instead, Vance thinks it’s “deranged” to care at all about what kind of future your children will have.