>If I understand what you've written, you partner is saying that in the event of a mass die-off they would rather their child die than survive because of "what sort of world" would be left on the other side?

That's the logical implication of their statement, but I'd bet what they're actually saying is, "That would be so horrible that I refuse to believe it would ever happen." You know: Denial.

I mean... "If [contingency] happens, everything is horrible anyway, *so* we don't have to plan for [contingency] or ever even think about it again" is a pretty common argument. I've seen it show up in political discussions too, where someone says "I support [policy which has drawbacks] to prevent [super bad contingency]" and that's the reply.

-Ochre Shabby Sea Serpent