This was posted on the No Kidding! Houston web site. -Neale

Society, Politics, and the Overpopulation Problem
by Mary Shaw

I am writing this on July 11 -- World Population Day. And I am reflecting on the
fact that the world's population continues to grow year after year, even though
our planet and its resources remain finite.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, new Americans are being born faster than
the old ones are dying off, yielding a net gain of one person every 11 seconds
in this country alone. And the population worldwide is growing even faster. This
results in ongoing and ever-worsening shortages of food, clean water, shelter,
and other necessities of life.

Nevertheless, the right-wing zealots continue to oppose responsible birth
control programs. They like to think of themselves as "pro-life". However, they
don't seem to care so much about the quality of life outside their country
clubs. And, indeed, it's in the poorer neighborhoods and developing nations that
overpopulation causes the greatest suffering.

Another part of the problem exists at a societal level. As a woman who has
chosen to remain child-free all my life, I am viewed by many as an anomaly. In
our society, parenthood is encouraged, glorified, and glamorized (see "Jon &
Kate Plus 8"). I frequently see otherwise intelligent people choosing to have
three or four children -- or more. While most surely don't over-reproduce for
malicious reasons, their naivete and/or thoughtlessness strike me as
irresponsible, and more than a little narcissistic.

On a more positive note, President Obama has already taken some important steps
in addressing family planning issues worldwide as well as domestically. He
repealed the Bush administration's Global Gag Rule, which had withheld federal
funds from nongovernmental health and family planning organizations that provide
abortion information or referrals in other countries. And his budget for FY 2010
eliminates funding for abstinence-only sex education and instead supports a new
Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative designed to "support community-based and
faith-based efforts to reduce teen pregnancy using evidence-based and promising
models."

But, like putting a Band-Aid on a cancer, these programs will not adequately
address the underlying societal attitudes that need to change.

Just as the "green" movement has caught on in recent years, educating and
inspiring ordinary people to be more environmentally responsible, we need a
similar movement for population control.

Society needs to embrace the concept that it is perfectly acceptable -- and, in
fact, a positive thing -- for a couple to have only one child, or none.

And adoption should be encouraged for those who want more.

We need to get to a place where reckless over-reproduction is generally regarded
as irresponsible and uncool. Because, in this day and age, it truly is.

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