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History
Les U. Knight of Portland, Oregon is generally cited as founding VHEMT in 1991[1][2] although he does not take credit for it.[3] Knight is the owner of vhemt.org and acts as a spokesman for the movement.[1][2][3] Knight became interested in the environmental movement in the 1970s after returning from Vietnam, becoming a member of Zero Population Growth and choosing to have a vasectomy while in his twenties.[1][4]Purpose
The primary motivation of VHEMT as a movement is the belief that the Biosphere of the planet Earth would be better off without humans.[2][5] In VHEMT's view, the human race is akin to an "exotic invader", whose population is out of control and threatens other species with extinction, and only removal of the human race can restore the natural ecological order.[1] VHEMT's primary goals are to influence people to choose to not reproduce[6] and to advocate ready access for all human beings to methods of birth control.[5]VHEMT also questions why humans choose to breed, citing influences such as culture and religion.[5] The organization does not advocate suicide, believing that extinctionists have value in discouraging reproduction,[1] nor does it endorse mass sterilization or forced abortion.[6] According to Knight, VHEMT advocates "whatever it takes to avoid creating a new human."[3] VHEMT also considers itself to be supportive of children, believing that the lives of existing children will benefit from reductions in the rate of population growth.[2]
The movement does not have members in the usual sense and is very informal in structure.[3] There are participants in the online forums, and recipients of a newsletter These Exit Times.[1] Anyone who decides not to procreate whether or not they are aware of VHEMT is considered a volunteer.[5]
Criticism
VHEMT has been criticized as advocating a "lemming-like" approach to population control.[1] Criticism has also been raised about the inevitability of human beings approaching a carrying capacity on the grounds that humans have significantly more control and understanding of their environment and reproductive choices than most animal species.[7] A spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York, Joseph Zwilling, stated that it is "absurd to suggest that the world would be better off without the human race."[6]Interviews and media coverage
Discovery Channel’s Planet Green hosted Bob Woodruff and Knight in the episode "Focus Earth: No More Children".[9] and a follow-up episode "Focus Earth: Too Many People".[10]
