Women are the only people in the world capable of being mothers — and for good reason. They’re naturally able to meet the needs of their children in a way men can’t, from breastfeeding to distinguishing between a child’s cries. These instincts are God-given and biological, but one New York Times essayist would have you believe otherwise.

In a lengthy piece published last month, Chelsea Conaboy argued that women’s maternal nature is not actually natural to us but is man-made — literally. The patriarchy, she said, thrust maternity onto women in order to make them into what men wanted them to be: domestic, docile creatures whose only concern is for their children.