The religious right, in full cry against Planned Parenthood and family planning talk a lot about the sanctity of life but close their eyes to the implications. It is estimated that the population of the planet will reach over 11 billion people by the end of the century. Add the effects of global warming and it is very possible (no, not inevitable) that we can look forward to war, lack of food and water, insufficient jobs and mass migration. The Middle East is exhibit Number One. Is this what God has planned for the human race? No, I don’t think so. Or, if it is, what sort of a god is she?
Epicureans are natural feminists as well as humanists. They think of the poor, under-served women, and the unwanted, unloved children of the world, often the result of rape. They stand for love and a decent upbringing and education for all children, brought into the world in a spirit of moderation. They want action on global warming so that as many people as possible in the future have fulfilling, contented lives, jobs and an education. The (mostly) religious people who oppose family planning should reverse the pre-historic and perverse teaching of religion that encourages the faithful to “go forth and multiply”. Badly out of date, that. If a god of love exists then she is quite capable of spotting that one of her planets has enough human beings on it, and that too many spell disaster. Are the religious right working against the very will and intention of their creator? Quite a thought.
I wouldn’t be quite so pessimistic. The rate of world population growth is slowing, mostly because of the increasing wealth of the developed world. But even less developed countries are seeing their birthrates drop. Big countries like Russia, China and Japan could soon be facing declining populations, if they are not declining already. There isn’t a single developed country where the birth rate is at replacement level- except for Israel, which is faced with unique circumstances that I won’t get into here.
The increased use of birth control worldwide would be welcome, of course. But the most effective way for a country to slow its population growth is to get richer. The countries with the highest birth rates are all extremely poor. The vast majority of countries with low birth rates are relatively rich.