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  • Title: Family planning in developing nations: a global concern, our concern.
    Author: Harriman L.
    Journal: J Home Econ; 1984; 76(1):8-12. PubMed ID: 12339668.
    Abstract:
    Rapid population growth is a serious problem in many developing countries and family planning policies developed in response to the problem raise many ethical issues; home economists can help the citizens in their respective countries increase their knowledge of population dynamics and help them assess the ethical implications of population and family planning policies. Most developing countries have high population growth rates. The annual population growth rates for 1975-79 were 2.8% for Africa, 2.6% for Latin America, and 2.1% for Asia. Population grows exponentially: a population growing at an annual rate of 3% increases. 1900% in a century. If current population trends continue the world's population will stablize toward the end of the 21st century at about 10 billion persons, compared to the world's present population of 4.3 billion. Rapid population growth not only threatens the future welfare of society as a whole, but currently impedes the economic development of the world's poorest nations. Consequently, the governments in many developing countries have adopted vigorous family planning programs. It is difficult to reduce population growth in developing countries because these countries have a high proportion of young people in their populations, i.e., a high number of persons of reproductive age. Barriers to family planning acceptance include 1) high illiteracy rates 2) high infant mortality rates 3) the high economic and socialvalue placed on children in developing countries and 4)religious beliefs. Methods used by governments to alter population growth include 1) manipulating access to contraceptives, 2)developing programs to alter social determinants of fertility, 3) using propaganda to encourage or discourage birth control and repressing information contrary to the government's policies, 4) offering incentives to those who further government policies and imposing disincentives on those who do not comply with government policies, and 5) exerting political pressure to force individual to comply with the govermnent's policies. The use of some of these methods raises ethical issues. When does pressure become coercion? Is coecion justified by the need to ensure the future welfare of the world? In India, sterilization was promoted by making payments to sterilization acceptors and promoters and to physicians who performed sterilizations. In Taiwan, savings deposits were made for children of couples with 1 or 2 children, and the deposits were decreased in additional childred were born. In China incentives, disincentives, and polititcal and peer pressure are used to promote the governt's family planning policies. Do these strong measures lead to infaticide and to the abuse of children whose births result in economic loss for other family members? Do they violate human rights? These issues should be discussed in home economics classes, and additional efforts must be made to ensure that male students are also provided with population information. Home economists can promote the critical assessment of the population problem and its solutions.
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