Emily Bingham, a writer from Michigan, received praise from many young women after the Facebook post she wrote about fertility and women became wildly popular.
In her post, Emily draws attention to the fact that everyone thinks it’s ok to stick their nose in other people’s lives and the fact that some commentaries can be really disturbing, especially because women not always reveal the painful reasons why they don’t have children.
Her Facebook post got shared more than 60.00 times and it got so many positive commentaries.
Emily posted a random ultrasound photo and she wrote:
“Hey everyone!!! Now that I got your attention with this RANDOM ULTRASOUND PHOTO I grabbed from a Google image search, this is just a friendly P.S.A. that people’s reproductive and procreative plans and decisions are none of your business. NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS.
“Before you ask the young married couple that has been together for seemingly forever when they are finally going to start a family … before you ask the parents of an only-child toddler when a Little Brother or Little Sister will be in the works … before you ask a single 30-something if/when she/he plans on having children because, you know, clock’s ticking … just stop. Please stop.”
“You don’t know who is struggling with infertility or grieving a miscarriage or dealing with health issues. You don’t know who is having relationship problems or is under a lot of stress or the timing just isn’t right. You don’t know who is on the fence about having kids or having more kids. You don’t know who has decided it’s not for them right now, or not for them ever.
“You don’t know how your seemingly innocent question might cause someone grief, pain, stress or frustration. Sure, for some people those questions may not cause any fraught feelings — but I can tell you, from my own experiences and hearing about many friends’ experiences — it more than likely does.
“Bottom line: Whether you are a wanna-be grandparent or a well-intentioned friend or family member or a nosy neighbor, it’s absolutely none of your business. Ask someone what they’re excited about right now. Ask them what the best part of their day was.
“If a person wants to let you in on something as personal as their plans to have or not have children, they will tell you. If you’re curious, just sit back and wait and let them do so by their own choosing, if and when they are ready.”
One woman left this comment: “I love you so much. People asking me about my child bearing plans drives me up a tree. Be they my parents or PERFECT STRANGERS, because that happens all too often.”
What’s your opinion on this subject? Do you support Emily?