Efilism - The Emerging Ideology of Anti-Life Extremism

Damage to the American Reproductive Centers Palm Springs facility following the car bombing - Image courtesy of American Reproductive Centers-Palm Springs Facebook page.

CONTENT WARNING: This insight discusses topics related to violent misogyny, suicide, rape, animal abuse, and child abuse.

On 17 May 2025, a car bomb was detonated at a reproductive center in Palm Springs, California. The blast killed the perpetrator, Guy Edward Bartkus, and injured four people. The FBI called it an "intentional act of terrorism."

Bartkus's manifesto referred to his act of terrorism as a "suicide bombing" and described himself as "pro-mortalist," and his act was a "fuck you" to "pro-lifers." 

This insight will explore the previously obscure cult of Efilism within the antinatalist community. 

Reinterpreting “Pro-Life”

Bartkus associated himself with a fringe philosophy called Elifism, and it should be noted that Efilists like Barktus define “pro-lifers” in a more expansive way than most. The term applies to all “normies,” and it would be inaccurate to consider this attack strictly in an “anti-pro-life” sense, as Efilists consider all individuals who are not Efilists to be “pro-life.” 

While the mainstream “pro-life” label is defined almost exclusively as “anti-abortion”, Efilism interprets the term as meaning “forcing life on others,” which they vehemently oppose. In their rhetoric, any ideology that seeks to propagate or preserve life, even IVF or fertility clinics, is “pro-life.” For example, Barktus explained his motivation in target selection by stating, “Basically I’m anti-life. And IVF is like, kind of the epitome of pro-life ideology.”

This suggests that he viewed IVF as the ultimate expression of “pro-life” thinking, and therefore a target for elimination. In other words, he defined “pro-lifers” as anyone advocating for more births or continuation of life, and called for aggression against them. In sum, Elifists like Bartkus redefine “pro-life” as what they stand against—life itself. According to the Intercept, “Barkus might be more accurately described not so much as anti-pro-life, but rather plain, old anti-life.”

Ideological Justification and Attack Planning

Bartkus declared, "The end goal is for the truth (Efilism) to win," and stated his act of terrorism was related to the philosophies of negative utilitarianism, Efilism, and abolitionist veganism. He wrote about the end goal being "finally beginning the process of sterilizing this planet of the disease of life," describing life as "senseless torture" and wanting "a war against pro-lifers." 

Bartkus wrote in his manifesto that what "finally put him over the edge" was his friend Sophie's recent death, which he described as a suicide. Sophie Tinney was a fellow follower of Efilism whose death was ruled an assisted suicide. She asked her boyfriend, Lars Eugene Nelson, to shoot her as she slept. Nelson has been charged with second-degree murder.

Barktus uploaded a rambling 30-minute audio monologue alongside his manifesto, the authenticity of which was confirmed by his father, where he compared his existence to rape, arguing that he didn't consent to being born. He described himself as being profoundly uninterested in "living" and normal activities from a young age, viewing life as a drug and an addiction. Indeed, Bartkus’s destructive tendencies appeared to begin early in his life.When Bartkus’s father spoke to the New York Times, he said he hadn’t seen his son in a decade and that at the age of nine, Bartkus burnt down the family home playing with matches. 

Bartkus advocated against suicide prevention and for the right to die in his monologue, and ranted against IVF and having children. He denied wanting personal attention for his act, claiming he was acting for "objectively important fucking causes," railing against online censorship that prevented him from advocating for antinatalism online. He described pro-mortalists as acknowledging that death is guaranteed and said they weren't "making death happen," but changing the date at which death occurs. He said "parents are the real killers," and "are the real ones imposing harm and suffering and some kind of death process onto people."

Bartkus was not alone in his endeavor to act on behalf of Efilism. On Wednesday, June 4, the U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California announced that 32-year-old Washington state man, Daniel Park, had been arrested as a “suspected accomplice.” The federal criminal complaint alleged Park provided material support to Guy Bartkus prior to his suicide bombing by shipping and paying for significant quantities of ammonium nitrate—an explosive precursor. Park stayed with Bartkus in late January and early February, where they ran experiments with chemicals in the garage. According to the New York Times, the pair had been actively planning the attack for over a year, and preparation included asking an A.I. chatbot for advice on how to use ammonium nitrate to build components for the bomb.

Park was transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles on June 13. On June 24, Park was found unresponsive in his cell. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital, and at the time of this writing, no cause of death has been released. 

What is Antinatalism?

Antinatalism is defined by Brown and Keefer as “the ethical view that it is morally wrong for people to reproduce.” There are many justifications for this conclusion, with some thinkers emphasizing the lack of consent, and others motivated by environmental or animal welfare concerns. The viewpoint exists on a continuum, with some people simply arguing for a “childfree” existence, while others believe that “creating life is unethical because of the existence of suffering and that the best outcome is extinction.”

The most prominent philosopher who has advanced the idea of antinatalism is South African philosopher and academic David Benatar. Benatar published a book in 2006 called Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming Into Existence, arguing that existence is always harmful, procreation is morally wrong, and it would be best if the human race became extinct, thereby ending this harm. 

After Bartkus’s terrorist attack, The Times contacted David Benatar for comment, and he told the reporter that "If his [Bartkus's] parents had not brought him into the world, there would not be this misery. His actions underscore my point.” Benatar told The Times he rejected "promortalism," which Bartkus referenced in his manifesto, and said, "While I do think it’s a harm to come into existence, it is also a harm to die, or to be killed, and I am opposed to acts of terror." A vegan, he also emphasized doing no harm to human beings or animals and embracing the joy of life. 

What is Efilism?

Efilism (“efil” being “life” spelled backwards) is a fringe anti-life philosophy and extreme offshoot of antinatalism and a cultish movement that primarily exists online. Efilism was developed by YouTube philosopher Gary Mosher, who also goes by "inmendham" online. Mosher, a 65-year-old man who lives in New Jersey, has posted hundreds of videos online across multiple YouTube channels going back more than a decade about Efilism and subjects such as quantum mechanics. Despite the obscurity of Efilism, Mosher’s videos attract thousands of views. Mosher has stated that he doesn’t consider himself an antinatalist but an “efilist” or a “life extinctionist.” 

Some followers and defenders of Efilism claim it is an ethical, environmental, feminist, and vegan left-wing philosophy.

The now-deleted subreddit for Efilism/Extinctionism described Efilism as “the belief that DNA, and the suffering of sentient consciousness, is the greatest problem in the universe.” 

A rambling "About" page on Mosher's website that answers the "What is Efilism" question expands with a quote attributed to musician and YouTuber Mike Bohl: "Efilism is a philosophy that reveals the truth about the implications of evolution and a universe that is indifferent and malignantly useless. In short, Efilists argue that life is fundamentally backwards or broken. It is a paradigm-shifting philosophy that considers ALL of sentient life to have value." Bohl believes that the greatest suffering on earth is experienced by "non-human animals" and in the wild. He argues that "a fail-safe solution of winding the population down and finally taking care of nature is a solution that has the highest probability of succeeding and will prevent the most suffering" but denies this position means to "destroy all life," emphasizing "compassion, knowledge, and sober judgment before actualizing the depth of suffering that exists and will continue if life is perpetuated." 

Dr. Marc-André Argentino has a helpful infographic explaining Efilism at this link. Dr. Argentino corrects some media and experts who inaccurately stated that the suicide bombing was motivated by nihilism: "Efilists cannot be nihilists in practice: they affirm a very definite moral imperative." 

Suicide bomber Guy Bartkus’s manifesto linked to Efilist, antinatalist and vegan YouTube channels, subreddits and writings, including Gary Mosher's YouTube channel, and a link to video transcripts of Sandy Hook school shooter Adam Lanza. 

Lanza spoke at length about antinatalism and Efilism in his videos and was also a follower of Gary Mosher. On Efilism, Lanza said, "I only oppose life because life is the source of value and it's value that I really hate." Lanza said about Mosher, “There are a lot of things I disagree with him about but listening to his rants are kind of my idea of pornography. It's just fun to listen to." On December 14, 2012, Lanza shot and killed his mother at home, then 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School, 20 of them children between six and seven years old, in addition to 6 adult staff members. Lanza then committed suicide. 

Another prominent voice in the Efilism community is Amanda Sukenick, who has published with Finnish philosopher Matti Hāyry, helping lend credibility to Efilism. Sukenick has no academic qualifications or background; in their 2024 article, Sukenick is credited as being affiliated with “The Exploring Antinatalism Podcast.”

Screenshot of the Hāyry and Sukenick article.

Sukenick is a founder of an organization called Antinatalism International (ANI), which describes itself as “the world’s first explicitly anti-procreative international organisation” that was “[f]ounded in the summer of 2020 (...) to help facilitate the entrance of antinatalist philosophy into the mainstream consciousness of society.” Gary Mosher is a member, and Antinatalism International regularly promotes him and his content, as well as a variety of other materials targeted at all ages and education levels. For example, Sukenick published a coloring book called The ABC's of Antinatalism in 2021 under "Life Sucks Publishing," selling it online. Sukenick is alleged to be an administrator of Mosher's social media accounts and assists him with archiving and uploading his content.

The Long Beach Post contacted Gary Mosher after the suicide bombing for comment and Mosher replied, “All causes have bad advocates.” Mosher also published a video to YouTube the day after the bombing where he said, “A guy named Guy, that’s all I knew him as, put the entire subject in jeopardy.” He denounced protesting and terrorism. He published another video to his website on May 18, responding to Guy Bartkus's suicide bombing where he argued it was "pointlessly, poorly done activism," saying no one suffered because of the act, and that speeding or drunk drivers harm more of humanity. 

This contradicts previous statements Mosher has made about violence, including:

• "If you're going to fix it, if you're actually going to stop it forever, then I'm saying, yes! An act of violence is perfectly reasonable." 

• "Anyone who understands what suffering is and how horrible it is will understand that, yes, you do whatever you have to in certain circumstances to prevent the harm."

• "If you want to win the war, violence really works."

Gary Mosher has a long history of violent and genocidal rhetoric, including advocating for violence, sexual violence against women and children, and torturing and killing animals. He is also a Holocaust denier. He has made many statements fantasizing about mass murder, including murdering people with mental illness, prisoners, poor people who have children, and people with HIV/AIDS. He fantasizes that he will get to be an executioner in the future. 

Amanda Sukenick is more careful about their public statements, but acts to defend and obfuscate Mosher’s violent beliefs and statements. Sukenick has fantasized alongside Mosher about bringing about mass extinction and “ending suffering” with nuclear bombs. 

Public statements by Gary Mosher and Amanda Sukenick concerned members of the antinatalist community so greatly they published an open letter in 2021, warning their community about them. The anonymous authors explained some of them had previously collaborated on antinatalist projects with Mosher and Sukenick but had severed or limited contact and involvement based on their violent rhetoric. In a prophetic statement, they wrote:

"We are, however, genuinely frightened that the violent rhetoric coming from the Efilist community will lead to someone getting hurt, and we feel that since the explicitly stated goal of Efilists is, to quote Sukenick,“Efilize Antinatalism from within”, you should be aware of exactly what agenda these individuals have and what their true relationship to Antinatalism is. Sukenick claims that she has “to talk people down from just going out and killing random people or hunting animals in some disgusting violent manner.” This is what Efilism, the apparently ‘superior’ upgrade that Antinatalism requires, a project set to end suffering throughout the entire universe, has delivered so far." 

A few years before the murder/suicide of Sophie Tinney and Guy Bartkus’s suicide bombing, the authors of the anonymous open letter warned about a growing number of individuals associating with antinatalism and/or Efilism who were morally justifying violence and boasting about "their desire or intentions to inflict it in the name of the supposed Efilist ‘cause’."

Amanda Sukenick has attempted to deflect blame away from themselves and Gary Mosher and what they promote, stating: 

"I don't want the rhetoric to cause harm to anybody, but there also needs to be some recognition that, across the board, this is saying some very disturbing things and it has some very disturbing consequences. There's no way to run away from that. But you can't pin all that on Gary. You can't pin all that on me. You can't pin all that on Efilism. It's the unfortunate situation that life leaves us in and it's the unfortunate situation we're in, having a window into what needs to happen, unfortunately."

As @fashfreenw wrote on Bluesky, "This is a dark world, and it would not be surprising to learn that Efilism has been tied to far more deaths and suicides than the ones we know about."

Screenshot of Bluesky post by user @fashfreenw.

The fact that Bartkus and Park moved from ideology to planning a terrorist act for Efilism—especially given the movement’s endorsement of violence by its founders and followers—should alarm anyone working to prevent terrorism.