Childlessness has always been a curse for a woman. As we've seen, the pursuit of individual pleasures has not made any one happy. Its been a vicarious substitute for the real thing: love and family.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Ummm...I understand the point you make - but I think you should take into account that many women end up childless or with fewer children because of devastating health problems that prevent them from having more children. I am one case in point: My very first pregnancy and child, I had severe problems during the pregnancy, and we had to deliver her prematurely because the placenta abrupted and they discovered I had placenta accretia - which meant that the placenta had grown into the wall of the uterus. There was a LOT of damage. I dont agree with the ethics of artificial insemination and the situation scared us to the degree that neither one of us wanted to put another baby through that kind of trauma, as subsequent children would mean prematurity as well, considering the fact that I had to have a classical C-section.
Having said that, hubby and I have not done anything to prevent a pregnancy - I am not on birth control and our intimate life is strong - but the fact that we did not have more children wasnt because of some political reason or because we want to indulge our selfish pleasures (I homeschool my only child!). Sometimes, nature does itself in.