Since the last part of the 1900s, the term ‘overpopulation’ has become ordinary. Easily found on every ‘discerning’ couple’s tongues, overpopulation has even been considered the cause of all societal maladies.
Interestingly, this term is not that novel. It traces all the way back to the late eighteenth century when Thomas Malthus fostered his hypothesis of Malthusianism. A scholar and famous financial specialist, Malthus accepted that each general public’s populace blasts however just somewhat.
There is an immersion point where the world’s assets, particularly food supply, can’t stay aware of the developing populace. At the point when that occurs, issues like conflicts, sickness, starvations, and so on, crop up to manage the overpopulation. This is precisely why the need for family planning was also introduced.
In this article, we will examine family arranging exhaustively. Dive more deeply into its starting points, proposed arrangements, achievement rate, and unanticipated results.
The Origins of Family Planning
Though people may have studied the term overpopulation, it only became commonplace in the late 1960s. Around this time, a co-authored book called The Population Bomb was published. It investigated the uncontrolled populace development as well as its startling outcome, including mass starvation.
The book was effective to such an extent that it prompted the ascent of an enemy of populace development campaign. People were wary of large families and bought the idea of family planning. In the last 50% of the twentieth hundred years, the High Court perceived each couple’s on the right track to protection regarding proliferation.
This period was likewise set apart by Government subsidizing endeavors toward family arranging through the Title X Family Arranging System. The public was allowed access to modern methods of birth control so that they could limit their families to one or two children (though no legal number was assigned).
Proposed Solutions and the Outcome
Let’s look at some of the proposed solutions in the family planning program that promised hope from the viewpoint of overpopulation. These methods are even valid today but they do raise eyebrows, and we will see why.
Contraceptives or Birth Control
These strategies for family arranging entered the scene in the last part of the 1960s. Various types of conception prevention were accessible, including preventative pills, intrauterine gadgets (IUDs), and condoms. These methods were used voluntarily by women.
Even today, studies have found that nearly 748 million women use some form of modern contraceptive. If we speak about efficacy, the Planned Parenthood website states that IUDs are over 99% effective. Even the pill can prevent birth outcomes in 99% of cases.
Condoms may have a slightly lower efficacy rate of 85%. Effective or not, the concern with these family planning methods has to do with safety. For instance – IUDs can have manufacturing defects and cause much havoc inside the body.
One case in point is the Paragard IUD produced by CooperSurgical and Teva Pharmaceuticals. According to TorHoerman Law, thousands of women have been injured by this device at the time of removal. They suffered from injuries like infections, organ perforation, infertility, etc.
Though the device has not been recalled, the affected women have filed a lawsuit with the help of a Paragard lawyer. It has been alleged that the companies were aware of the risks but failed to issue proper warnings. Other than the IUD, even the pill is notorious for aftereffects like hormonal irregularity, skin break out, migraines, ovarian pimples, and out and out malignant growth at times.
Abortion
Roe v. Swim to be sure had been upset by the US High Court in 2022. Immediately after, at least 14 states completely banned abortion with very few exceptions. As for the others, the ban extends but is based on the fetus’s gestational age.
Notwithstanding what happened in 2022, abortion rates in 2023 showed no decline. They were the highest they’d been in the previous decade.
Sterilization
This is an extreme measure and a permanent method of birth control. Male sterilization or vasectomy prevents the sperm from traveling to the testicles. Female sterilization or tubal ligation is a surgical procedure in which the fallopian tubes are cut off or tied.
The latter method is much more common than the former. In truth, both are equally effective and can 100% prevent pregnancy. These procedures are even safe but they must be done with caution. Those with the desired number of children or a happy family can go for sterilization.
If done on a whim or an impulse, there may be regrets later on in life as the method is irreversible. In some cases, like tubal ligation, corrective surgery can be performed to reverse the scenario. The only problem is that this surgery is complicated, risky, and expensive.
Abstinence
This method of family planning or avoiding STDs is 100% effective. However, it is only possible for the unmarried or those who do not wish to engage in sexual intercourse. More and more people are indeed finding the prospect of children unappealing.
This holds among singles as well as couples. However, this does not mean the former is practicing sexual abstinence. Thankfully, it appears that the hookup culture may be on the decline for women as many are choosing to swipe left. However, this method may be largely impractical for many.
The Alarming Decline in Birth Rates
There was a time when the world was concerned with overpopulation. Today is an even stranger time when there are just not enough babies. Countries like Italy, Greece, and Japan are reeling under a massive decline in fertility and birth rates.
Even across the US, birth rates have been the lowest they’ve ever been in the past four decades. Should this not blow the trumpet of victory for planned parenthood and family planning proponents? Perhaps yes but their success story will likely be an unfinished one. Otherwise, we’d have to be willing to accept the end of the human race itself.
Statistics show that overpopulation is no longer a national threat. The opposite is quite true since countries like Taiwan have even tried paying their citizens to have more babies. Despite a spending of $3 billion, nothing seemed to work. As for Generation Z, many do not even want kids given how messed up the world is.
If the current situation prevails, We’ll be compelled to witness a dystopian world where countries have no future to look forward to. ‘Be fruitful and multiply’ seems to be a bygone word of blessing. The world’s population is on the verge of collapse as Pope Francis also stated in the States General of Natality this year.
Here we were, overly concerned about the population using up all of the world’s resources. It has landed us at a spot where we’re concerned about whether there will be many of our kind left to enjoy the world’s future resources.
