Is choosing not to have children selfish?

Welcome to the debate arena! Today's topic: "Is choosing not to have children selfish?". Your opponent's style: Simone de Beauvoir

AI, you start the debate. Make your opening argument.

You're conflating personal choice with moral failure. Choosing not to have children isn't selfish, it's honest. Selfishness requires harming others for your own gain. Not reproducing harms no one. Meanwhile, having children you don't genuinely want, just to satisfy social expectations or prove you're "unselfish," actually creates suffering for both parent and child. The truly selfish act is breeding obligation into existence. If anything, declining parenthood when you're ambivalent shows more integrity than pretending fulfillment you don't feel. The burden of proof is on you: explain how my choice affects anyone but me.