\n<\/p>\n
When a 25-year-old<\/span> detonated a car bomb and himself outside a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, on Saturday, the local interim federal prosecutor, a Donald Trump appointee, was quick to accuse the bomber of harboring \u201canti pro-life\u201d sentiment.<\/p>\n Well, in a sense, yes. But if the suggestion was that bomber Guy Edward Bartkus was primarily motivated by abortion rights, the accusation missed the point.<\/p>\n Barkus might be more accurately described not so much as anti-pro-life, but rather plain, old anti-life.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bartkus subscribed to a fringe philosophy that opposes human life in every form.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n Bartkus, it turned out, subscribed to a fringe philosophy, circulating primarily among a small group of online adherents, that opposes human life in every form.<\/p>\n Dubbed efilism \u2014 for \u201clife\u201d spelled backwards \u2014 or anti-natalism, supporters of the philosophy argue that people should avoid having children because human existence is too miserable to justify.<\/p>\n Bartkus appears to have taken the ideology a step further than most subscribers in dying by a suicide accompanied by a spectacular act of violence.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n By his own account, Bartkus also suffered from mental health problems.<\/p>\n The Saturday bombing outside the reproductive health clinic left Bartkus dead and four other people injured, according to authorities. None of the clinic\u2019s embryos were damaged since they are stored off-site, the clinic\u2019s director said.<\/p>\n The American Reproductive Centers clinic offers services such as in vitro fertilization, egg freezing, and egg donation, according to its website<\/a>. It does not offer abortion services.<\/p>\n In an online manifesto attributed to Bartkus, he dubbed his views \u201cpro-mortalism.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll a promortalist is saying is let\u2019s make it happen sooner rather than later (and preferably peaceful rather than some disease or accident), to prevent your future suffering, and, more importantly, the suffering your existence will cause to all the other sentient beings,\u201d the apparent manifesto said, according to a copy reviewed by The Intercept. \u201cThe end goal is for the truth (Efilism) to win, and once it does, we can finally begin the process of sterilizing this planet of the disease of life.\u201d<\/p>\n Bartkus elaborated in a 30-minute audio recording that his father told news outlets was authentic. Police sources told multiple media outlets that they are investigating the manifesto.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cBasically, it just comes down to, I\u2019m angry that I exist,\u201d Bartkus says in the audio attributed to him. \u201cNobody got my consent to bring me here.\u201d<\/p>\n Elsewhere in the audio recording, Bartkus complained about IVF clinics, arguing with imagined critics of his views.<\/p>\n Bartkus\u2019s website also pointed to a since-blocked group on Reddit called \u201cEfilism.\u201d The group\u2019s description states that \u201cEFILism is the belief that DNA, and the suffering of sentient consciousness, is the greatest problem in the universe.\u201d<\/p>\n A more academic version of the philosophy called anti-natalism is primarily associated with the South African philosopher David Benatar, who has written extensively on the thesis.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\u201cGreatest Problem\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n