Bill Nye sparks outrage for asking whether families should be penalized for having 'extra kids'

Reuters/Aaron P. Bernstein

Bill Nye leads demonstrators on a march to the U.S. Capitol during the March for Science in Washington.

Bill Nye, popularly known as "the Science Guy," is being criticized for asking during a panel discussion in his new Netflix show "Bill Nye Saves the World" whether families should be penalized for having "extra kids"

In the 13th episode of the show titled "Earth's People Problem," Nye and several panelists discussed how they think population growth affects the earth, Life News reported.

Prior to the panel discussion, Nye explained that women who have access to education and professional opportunities tend to have fewer children. The TV host asserted that women have fewer children when they are in power, and more resources can be devoted to their children.

The panel reportedly included Nerys Benfield, an abortionist who practices at the Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, and Dr. Rachel Snow of the United Nations Population Fund, which has been linked to coercive abortion practices in China.

During the discussion, Nye asked the panel, "Should we have policies that penalize people for having extra kids in the developed world?"

Travis Rieder, a bioethicist at Johns Hopkins University, responded by saying he believed it was a good idea. "I do think that we should at least consider it," he told Nye.

"Well, 'at least consider it' is like 'Do it,'" Nye replied.

Snow took issue with the idea of doing "anything to incentivize fewer children or more children," while Benfield pointed to the history of compulsory sterilization in America, which was in place as recently as the 1970s.

Benfield further noted that the issue regarding sterilization had not been approached from a position of "justice" in the past, and raised the question whether it would be just if applied today.

Some viewers took to Twitter to express their outrage over the suggestion that families should be penalized for having more children.

"Wow! @BillNye the eugenics guy? He wants to punish people for having 'extra kids.' What's an extra kid?" one Twitter user wrote, as reported by the New York Post.

Another Twitter user referred to the popular TV host as "Bill Nye the Hitler Guy."

Nye's new show have been praised by some viewers, but many criticized it for being provocative and biased.

"Bill Nye, you should reboot your old show so adult fans can introduce their kids to science...instead of taking a big s–t in their mouths," a Twitter user suggested.