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A woman shocked her husband after declaring that she’d give up having children if it meant her cat could live forever.
In a viral TikTok video, 29-year-old Megan Kolioupoulos polarized internet users when she posed a moral dilemma, asking what people would give up if it meant they could ensure immortality for their beloved furry companions. In the video’s overlaid text, she wrote: “Would you give up the ability to have children if your pets could live healthy lives, as long as you?”
The clip started with her saying, “So apparently I said an insane thing and I’m getting flamed by literally every single person I ask – except from people who actually don’t actually want kids.”
“I said the other day to my husband, ‘If I could have the ability to have my cat live forever with me – like live until the exact day I die, but she stays healthy ... I would give up the ability to have children,’” she continued. “That was not the right thing to say.”
She added, “Nobody agrees. Nobody loves their pet enough, apparently? I was like, this is common sense.”
Kolioupoulos noted that the dilemma led to a “big argument” with everyone she asked, but despite this, she didn’t regret standing her ground. She whispered conspiratorially at the end of the video, “I don’t take it back.”
Although the video was initially meant to be playful and funny, Kolioupoulos told People she liked how the video sparked discourse on a woman’s choice to have children.
“Since I love my cats so much and I think about them so much, I was thinking, ‘What would be worth it to give up to have them live forever?’ All my friends are having kids, so that was the first thing that came to my head,” she told the outlet. “I said it flippantly to my husband and he looked at me horrified.”
At the time, she recalled her husband said, “I can’t believe you’re saying you’d give up the ability for us to have a family.”
“I was surprised by his reaction,” she admitted. “It caused me to be like, ‘Am I the crazy one?’ So I crowd-sourced it to my friends and I got a similar reaction... They were like, ‘You’re insane.’”
After posting about the situation on the social media platform, Kolioupoulos was equally perplexed by the divided reaction from viewers.
“It was so shocking,” she said. “I started getting notifications and I was like, ‘Oh no, the mom bloggers have found me. This is going to be a problem.’ But it was actually so many people saying, ‘I love this idea, where do I sign on the dotted line?’ or ‘I would give up my ability to have kids in exchange for a Pringle.’”
“It was kind of refreshing,” she continued. “As a woman without kids, you often get labeled as someone who hates kids. But a lot of people have personal reasons for not wanting kids, or not being able to have kids. You can find love in other places, especially in pets. It’s just a different kind of love.”
In the video’s comments section, people noted that they too would give up anything if it meant they could have their pets around for longer.
“‘Give up the ability’ nah, FREE ME from the ability,” one person joked. “I don’t need it nor do I want it. Give me my immortal cat!!!!”
“I would give up my ability to have children for just about any reward,” another added.
