Family Planning Regulation

Family Planning Regulation

The population growth of the world is one of the leading environmental problems. Overpopulation can lead to many problems such as overconsumption which limits the number of resources that are available for everyone to sustain life. The rate of population growth is very high especially in developing countries. 90% of the world’s population is concentrated in these areas. Population growth is increased by poverty. This article promotes the challenge of family planning. For example, having only planned pregnancies is one of the key ideas trying to be encouraged. The argument between this kind of regulatory control and the idea of economic incentives will be argued in this blog.

Throughout the article I chose, the regulation of family planning is highly emphasized. Contraceptives are promoted throughout the article. In the United Kingdom the government set up a teenage pregnancy strategy to try and promote the awareness of teens about teenage pregnancy. In year 2000 they implemented the Teenage Pregnancy Unit. The purpose of these programs were to provide specific messages on peer pressure, the option of waiting for sex, sexually transmitted infections, using contraception and condoms. Correct contraceptive information is trying to be promoted by these groups. For example, people in Rwanda believe that contraceptives such as birth control may lead to permanent sterilization. This organization wants to eliminate such rumors. The program is also aimed at problem groups that are often neglected such as boys and young men, young people from black to ethnic minority communities and ones in care homes. The methods and resources that are available to these target groups should be readily available. Vasectomies and male sterilization should be encouraged also and made available as well as for females, hysterectomies. Policies such as the one child policy in China should be a last resort. That is because they are liable to be neglectful of the human rights of some women, and of additional children who arrive despite the policy and also may be unnecessary in some countries. Fiscal incentives to encourage women to have large families should be discouraged.

Through economic incentives, meaning that the government grants an organization with money to for the quality of their work, overpopulation can be controlled instead of just an education about premarital and teenage pregnancies and other self control programs. Such ‘bribes’ can be used to encourage people to use these contraceptives. I mentioned before that the majority of the population growth in the future years will be in third world countries, areas that are struggling economically. Money is a high commodity any where in the world so this could be beneficial. Some negative effects of these incentives could be increased crime. But personally I think these incentives will give these people an opportunity for them to make a difference to the world as well as benefit with the extra money that they might be in desperate need. Also incentives should be rewarded to families that have one child or the maximum two.

Overall, I think that the idea of economic incentives is a good idea for the environment and will help encourage people to reduce unplanned pregnancies. Clearly the whole sexual education is not working as well as planned, so why not give something that everybody wants?

Reference:

Guillebaud, John. http://www.optimumpopulation.org/Youthquake.pdf, Accessed Nov. 16^th/09