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• Monday, October 22, 2007 03:08 PM

  Abstinence only

  Abstinence only doesn’t just fail in sex ed. It fails the overpopulation argument too.

  While it’s easy enough to see the merits of the overpopulation argument, it ignores the basic human fact that a lot of folks want to have kids. Instead of arguing with those who have kids -- overpopulation concerns may be better addressed by first helping people who don’t want children or any more children not have them achieve that goal.

  Help make access to birth control a basic human right – even for minors and people who cannot afford to pay for it. Support sex education – the real kind – not abstinence only. Support Planned Parenthood. Vote to keep abortion safe and legal. Support efforts in developing nations to provide birth control to everyone who wants it.

  Invest in programs that support women who want to start their own businesses in countries where they have few options or rights. Lifting women up financially can help sever the tie between their societal value and the number of children they produce.

  Get involved in programs that educate women that they do have rights and choices involving reproduction. Support reform efforts within religious groups that allow for birth control without threatening one’s eternal fate.

  Help make sure that adoption is financially feasible for people who do want to parent.

  While deciding not to have children yourself helps a little, helping to address the thousands of children born to the unwilling or unprepared could do so much more. Allow for other people’s religious and societal values and see if there is some way to work within them to help them see the value in having fewer children. Show people through your actions that childfree living is practiced by kind and thoughtful people.

  Attacking people who want a couple of kids doesn’t do much to address the problem at hand. If overpopulation concerns are to ever reach the people that most need to hear them, it will be through a message of respect and tolerance.

  —daisy66 Read daisy66's other letters
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