For others, the bottom line is simply financial.  One woman asked:  "What would the return be on the investment? Are there any laws that would require my children to pay for my nursing home when I am old?  Are they going to be a sufficient hedge against poverty and loneliness?"  A return on investment? 

Some who have chosen to be childless have actually formed organizations in order to band together.  The group "No Kidding" was formed in Atlanta four years ago as a social outlet for couples choosing to have no children.  Traci Swartz, an occupational therapist in her thirties, joined "No Kidding" with her husband Jeremy, a 32 year old computer analyst.  "When you don't have children, you are not involved in any activities like a lot of other people, like soccer and ballet," said Traci.  She explained that "No Kidding" members are more likely to talk about pets, travel, or other common interests.  Kids rarely come up as a topic of conversation.  "People think we sit around and talk about how we hate kids, but we almost never mention kids," Traci explained.  No wonder.

Another woman in the Atlanta group explained, "you focus those motherly feelings elsewhere.  For us, our dogs get all that love."  That worldview is sick, but more and more common.

Christians must recognize that this rebellion against parenthood represents nothing less than an absolute revolt against God's design.  The Scripture points to barrenness as a great curse and children as a divine gift.  The Psalmist declared:  "Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward.  Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth.  How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; they will not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate."  [Psalm 127: 3-5]  Morally speaking, the epidemic in this regard has nothing to do with those married couples who desire children but are for any reason unable to have them, but in those who are fully capable of having children but reject this intrusion in their lifestyle.