FACT CHECK: Did Kamala Harris Suggest Young People Should Not Have Children Due To Climate Change?

A post shared on Facebook claims Vice President Kamala Harris suggested that young people should not have children because of climate change. 

Verdict: False

The video is miscaptioned. It actually shows Harris defining “climate anxiety,” and she does not make the suggestion that young people shouldn’t have children because of climate change.

Fact Check:

Former President Donald Trump has stated that he will be debating Harris “in the pretty near future” after he backed out of a debate with her set to air on ABC News on Sept. 10, according to The Hill. He had agreed to an ABC News debate with President Joe Biden until Biden dropped out and was replaced by Harris as the Democratic nominee, the outlet reported.

A Facebook post claims Harris suggested that young people shouldn’t have kids due to climate change. The video shows Harris on stage with another woman as they discuss the anxiety some young people may have around climate change.

The video has been miscaptioned, however. The clip was taken from a conversation Harris had with actress Annie Gonzalez during the “Fight for Our Freedoms” college tour, which was uploaded to the White House YouTube. The Facebook snippet was taken from around the 8:05 timestamp. (RELATED: Here’s What We Know About Kamala Harris’ Stance On Defunding The Police)

Harris says, “I’ve heard young leaders talk with me about a term they’ve coined called ‘climate anxiety,’ right, which is fear of the future and the unknown, of whether it makes sense for you even to think about having children, whether it makes sense for you to think about aspiring to buy a home because what will this climate be?” She does not suggest that young people should not have kids, but instead is describing “climate anxiety,” which she said she heard young leaders suggest makes people not want to have kids. 

“The clip never says that,” a Harris spokesperson told Check Your Fact via email.