Myths of Overpopulation

Cairo Conference

Pakistan's Prime Minister speaks to delegate

Dignity Through Development

Ancient Hostility Towards Life

PHAROAH SAID: “Look how numerous and powerful the Israelite people are growing, more so than we ourselves. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them to stop their increase.” (Ex. 1-9)

The Powerful Fear the Poor

The Great Polluters

80% of the World’s Goods are Consumed by

20% of the World’s Population

The Conference on Population and Human Development at Cairo

Human Rights: True Champion?

Friend or Foe?

Babies: Burden or Blessing

Be Fruitful and Multiply and Fill the Earth!

Is the World Overpopulated?

False Prophets

Thomas Malthus

1798

People Food

1 1

2 2

4 3

8 4

16 5

32 6

64 7

128 8

256 9

512 10

1024 11

World Population

Source: United Nations, World Population Prospects,

The 1998 Revision; and estimates by the Population Reference Bureau

Causes of Population Growth

Total Fertility Rate

00.5

11.52

2.53

3.54

4.55

1990TFR

2000TFR

2010TFR

2025TFR

World

Less DevelopedCountries

More DevelopedCountries

Europe: Population by age groups, 1950-

2050

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1950 1970 1995 2025 2050

Age 75+Age 65+Age 15-64Age 0-14

Healthy Population Distribution

Declining Fertility

Sweden 1999-2050

Sweden 2005

The World’s Population in Texas

Can We Feed All These People?

“Jesus asked Phillip: ‘Where can we buy some food for the people to eat?’ He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do.” (Jn 6:5-6)

And the Multiplying Continues…

Are We Running Out of Resources?

A 1949 U.N. Scientific Conference predicted that the world would run out of:

● Lead by 1968 ● Zinc by 1971

● Chromium by 1975 ● Tin by 1985Almost half a century later, none of these predictions has come true!

Economists Welcome Population Growth

Statistics on Population and Prosperity:

Is There an Effect?Country

Populationper square

mile

Pop. per sq. mile

arable land

Income per capita

Early 1990s

Life exp.

Bangladesh 2,004 2,990 $180 56.2

China 315 3,146 $370 69.8

Denmark 313 513 $15,200 74.5

Germany 585 1,950 $19,943 74.6

India 695 1,264 $300 52.3

Israel 648 3,814 $10,500 75.6

Japan 865 6,657 $27,321 79.1

Mexico 115 960 $2,936 64.2

New Jersey* 1,046 5,505 $25,372 77.9

Switzerland 433 4,329 $18,700 77.3

Taiwan 1,669 6,956 $8,083 70.2

United Kingdom 611 2,108 $15,000 75.5

United States 71 354 $22,212 74.9

Source: Gale Lyle Pooley, Environmentalism and the Gospel, Analytica, Sun Valley, Idaho, 1995, p. 92

A Telling Comparison

What About the Environment?

Abusive Population Control Policies

Male Births per 100 Female Births in

China

100 105 110 115 120

1972

1980

1986

1990

2000

Source: The Economist, Dec. 19, 1998 and 2000 Chinese Census

African Women Protest

“I am distressed that there seems to be a conspiracy to keep women in the dark, especially the African women, regarding the many dangerous side effects of contraceptives, some of which are irreversible and life-threatening. I especially abhor the experimentation and dumping methods of untested and harmful drugs in Africa and other developing countries.”

DR. MARGARET OGOLA, KENYA, in address delivered at the Fourth International Congress on Women in Beijing, Sept. 8, 1995

Norplant and Bangladesh

Eyesight disorders, strokes, persistent bleeding,

problems with removal - many women have no such side-effects, but thousands are now taking legal action in the West. Norplant was studied for 20 years in the West, but mostly in developing countries. After standard clinical trials of Norplant had been completed, pre-introductory clinical trials were held to assess the drug's safety, efficacy and acceptability in local conditions. Horizon went to Bangladesh to investigate one such trial. In the mid-80s, stories had begun to emerge from women's health campaigns. In the slums of Dhaka, Farida Akhter heard of women with Norplant in their arms who were desperate to get it removed. She realised she had stumbled on a drug trial.

Education of Females

Out of Wedlock BirthsPerc

enta

ge o

f out

of

wedlo

ck

bir

ths

Source: William J. Bennett, The Index of Leading Cultural Indicators

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

1960 1975 1990 1995 1997

White

Black

All Births

NFP: Safe and Effective