From Moira Macdonald, Exeter, Devon, UK

Daniel Cossins asks whether “we” should impose population controls (8 July, p 34). But it has been obvious since effective contraception and safe abortion became available that it is men worldwide who are at the controls.

Evidence exists that, given affordable access to the means of regulating their fertility, women do their best to avoid having more babies than they anticipate being able to raise successfully. That there are so many of us on the planet is because men maintain social structures in which safe abortion is restricted, banned or unavailable and where access to contraception costs too much, is forbidden or is still unavailable – China excepted.

Birth control is indeed a massive human rights issue – the problem is the denial of women’s human rights. The solution is not to start, but to stop imposing the current controls. Free each woman to be the sole decision-maker over her own body. Give her access to safe, affordable means to regulate her fertility, to get an abortion if and as soon as she needs one. Then watch the global birth rate plummet.(New Scientist)

As a male myself I cannot understand why men insist on running everything. Interfering with the right of women to decide on the number of babies, if any,  they have is a good example.  (the Christian Right in America, Hindus in India, Moslems everywhere, all dominated by men, please especially  note).

Personally, I find all the women I know are smarter than me. This being the case, I would like to retire to bed with a large box of dark chocolates and let them get on with running the world.   May Ms. Moira Macdonald, who wrote the above letter and is clearly of good, practical Scottish ancestry, be one of the first candidates, along with my wife and nearly all our female friends. Carry on, ladies.  Us guys seem to have messed up.