Global Monitor

Population Growth Wrongly Blamed

“Population growth in the Third World is being increasingly and falsely identified as a primary cause of environmental destruction .…

“Population growth is not a cause of the environmental crisis but an aspect of it and both are related to the alienation of resources and destruction of livelihoods, first by colonialism and then by Northern—imposed models of maldevelopment. For example, in 1600 the population of India was between 100 million and 125 million. In 1800 the population remained stable. Then the rise began: 130 million in 1845, 175 million in 1855, 194 million in 1867 and 255 million in 1871. The beginning of the ‘population explosion` dovetailed neatly with the expansion of British rule in India, when resources and rights and livelihoods were taken away from people.

“That population growth arises from the same causes that lead to poverty on the one hand, and environmental degradation and resource alienation on the other hand should be apparent from the India data which shows that population control programmes have systematically failed because people in destitution make a rational choice to have more children.

“The focus on population as the cause of environmental destruction is erroneous at two levels. Firstly, it blames the victims. Secondly, by failing to address the economic insecurity and denial of rights to survival that underlie population growth, policy prescriptions avoid the real prob1em.”1

Phiilippines’ Media Wary of USAID

“Journalists at a recent workshop sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) called for caution in the use of the foreign government grants for Philippine media .…

“The workshop, organized by a team of Filipino academicians, had earlier been reported…as a part of the Democratic Pluralism Initiative (DPI), a USAID project.

“USAID documents made available…show that, in line with that agency’s strategy for the Philippines, the DPI will aim at supporting and strengthening a pluralistic approach to public policy making} One of ‘the key goals’ of DPI activities, the papers said, ‘may be to strengthen the process of disseminating information by the Philippine media.’ Similar projects are in place in Latin America and other Southeast Asian countries.”2

U.S. Total Cost of PID $4.2 Billion in 1990

The estimated cost of medical treatment for pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and PID-associated ectopic pregnancy and infertility was $2.7 billion in 1990, with related costs (such as lost wages) estimated at $1.5 billion. Private insurance covered the largest portion of the direct costs (41%), followed by public sources (30%) and health maintenance and preferred provider organizations (18%); the remainder was paid by patients themselves or by other sources. According to projections based on current incidence levels, the direct costs of treating PID will approach $10 billion in 2000; if current trends continue, an increasing share of these expenses will be paid by public sources.

The indirect costs of PID and PID-related ectopic pregnancy and infertility in 1990 were estimated at $l.5 billion; this included $542 million in lost wages and $759 million for the lost value of household management. PID alone accounted for the largest portion (66%) of these costs, followed by infertility and premature death (14% each) and ectopic pregnancy (5 %).3

Parliamentarians Met in Uruguay

Parliamentarians from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Paraguay and Uruguay met in October I99l in the legislative palace of Uruguay to exchange views at a meeting titled “Population, Development, and the Quality of Life.” The first day of the conference was devoted to problems relating to urbanization and youth.

The meeting was inaugurated by the President of the Parliament of Uruguay, Dr. Gonzalo Aguirre, and by the Vice President. They urged parliamentarians not only to address these themes in their written laws but, more importantly, to have the political will to carry them out. Dr. Aguirre also announced that Uruguay will become an official member of the IAPG in order to address issues such as migration, population distribution, education on family planning and adolescent pregnancy.

The conference “achieved consensus” on the need to “integrate population concerns into development,” to respond to the needs of youth, and to find concrete solutions to problems brought about by urbanization.4

Swedish Government Supports IAPG

The Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA) recently approved a $100,000 grant to support the work of the Inter-American Parliamentary Group. The monies are to be channeled through the United Nations Population Fund.

The SIDA funds were designated to help cover the expenses of the above-mentioned inter-parliamentary meeting titled, “Population, Development and the Quality of Life,” and the “Safe Motherhood” meeting for Central America and the Caribbean held in January 1992. Funds will also be used to support the overall efforts of IAPG to “provide accurate and useful information on population issues” to members of parliament of the Western Hemisphere.5

European Parliament Forms Group on Population and Development

A new Working Group on Population and Development has been formed by the European Parliament, The Group will seek to raise awareness and understanding of population issues and of the effects of rapid population growth rates.

The founding co-Presidents include Gianni Baget Bozzo {Italy), Yvon Briant (France), Margaret Daly (United Kingdom), Enrico Falqui (Italy), Markijke van Hemeldonck (Belgium), Christopher Jackson (United Kingdom), Maartje van Putten (Netherlands), Simone Veil (France), and Maximo Verhagen {Netherlands). The inaugural meeting of the Group was held on 9 December 1991 in Strasbourg, France. There the co—Presidents agreed to ensure that references to population be included in all relevant European Parliament Resolutions.

Marie Stopes International, a British-based population control organization, has been requested by the group to provide administrative services and research.6

Briton Sees AIDS Halting Africa Population Rise

A British scientist in Nairobi predicts that because of the AIDS epidemic, populations in the worst-afflicted African countries will, within 20 years, switch over from their present high rate of increase to a decrease in numbers.

In Uganda, where l.5 million people out of a population of 16 million are thought to be infected with HIV, the current 3 percent population growth rate is likely to fall below zero after 2002, with more people dying than being born. In l5 years, Uganda would have 20 percent fewer people than if the AIDS epidemic had not occurred. The population would be 20.28 million, instead of 24 million. Tanzania, Malawi and Rwanda, all in the central and east African belt where AIDS has hit hardest, would be similarly affected.7

Family Planning and Race in South Africa

“Reproductive health is a key issue in contemporary South Africa .… Among black and colored women the most common way of first encountering family planning was when, on the day of their discharge from a postnatal ward, they were given an injection of Depo-Provera, often without information or consent.

“Another area where evidence of pressure to use Depo-Provera was found, was in occupational settings. Mobile teams visit factories regularly and cater to the contraceptive needs of the employees. At some factories the employer actually checks to see that female employees regularly receive contraception. As such a check cannot be done with an oral method; it is not difficult to understand why injectables are their method of choice. Proof of regular contraceptive injections can be a criteria for employment in some cases.”8

U.S.- World Bank

“The World Bank, the biggest source of loans to countries needing aid, has been getting more money back from borrowers than it’s been lending for the past five years. On Thursday it reported a net inflow of $5.5 billion for the year that ended June 30.

“Last year the Bank, owned by 163 countries with the United States holding the largest block of shares, agreed to make $15.156 billion in new loans to 43 countries, down from $16.392 billion in 1991. Since 1987 it has been receiving more in repayments and interest than it has boon disbursing in new loans. In 1991 the figure was also $5.5 billion, up from $858 million in 1990.

“The situation is expected to continue, though the bank will not say publicly for how long. One official who showed a reporter some figures on a table kept his thumb over the projections for the next few years. The bank made a profit for the year of $1.645 billion, up from $1.2 billion the year before. It will give $300 million of that to a fund for loans on easy terms to the poorest countries, the International Development Association (IDA), with $375 million more promised for later”9

California Anti-Genetic Discrimination Bill Vetoed

“A bill to prevent genetic discrimination by employers and insurance companies was vetoed by Calif0rnia`s Governor Pete Wilson on Oct. 14, 1991. The bill, passed by a majority of the state legislature, would have created an 8-year moratorium on using genetic tests to determine people’s eligibility for health insurance, group life insurance, and disability insurance policies. The bill would also have stopped the use of genetic testing for employment purposes and made discrimination based on genetic characteristics illegal. Wilson, a Republican, said he supported the insurance provisions, as they would encourage people to take genetic tests needed to make important personal decisions. But he balked at expanding the civil rights laws because it would ‘increase the cost of doing business.”10

New Test Could Speed Up Genetic Screening

“A new test could significantly speed up the mass screening of large numbers of people to see if they are likely to pass on genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anemia to their children,’ New Scientist reports. Developed in Australia at the Queensland University of Technology, the test takes 5 hours and can use DNA from the skin at the end of a single hair. ‘Once carriers of genetic diseases have been identified, their pregnancies can be more closely monitored and terminated if the fetus is found to be affected,’ New Scientist continues.

“The test, called GeneCo Technology, is relatively cheap, costing about L25, and can be automated. The test can already be used to screen for hemophilia and phenylketonuria. It can rapidly be adapted to newly discovered genes.”11

The Marquis de Sade and Induced Abortion

“In 1795 the Marquis de Sade published his La Philosophie Dans le Boudoir, in which he proposed the use of induced abortion for social reasons and as a means of population control. It is from this time that medical and social acceptance of abortion can be dated although previously the subject had not been discussed in public in modern times. It is suggested that it was largely due to de Sade’s writing that induced abortion received the impetus which resulted in its subsequent spread in western society.

“The realistic view, according to de Sade, was that as murder is such a trivial matter then destruction of an infant, which has not achieved ‘the age of reason,` is only of ‘small consequence`. Such practices, he said, are found throughout history amongst all peoples of the world, and this demonstrates the stupidity of regarding such a ‘very unimportant action` as wrong.

“De Sade was very concerned with the concept of optimum population size, and would undoubtedly have approved of the conclusions reached by Malthus three years later in his “Essay on the Principle of Population.” In the light of all these views, for de Sade the solution was simple, ‘Do not put up with these disgraceful fruits of one’s debauchery. One disposes of these hideous consequences in the same way as the results of one’s digestion.”12

“Look a Gift Pesticide in The Mouth”

“Niger, which has long served as a dumping ground for toxic pesticides that have been banned in most developed countries, recently shipped l00,000 pounds of dieldrin back to the Netherlands. Many African countries have stockpiles of toxic pesticides that have been ‘donated` by developing countries because accepting the toxic chemicals has often been a condition for receiving other, less harmful aid. For example, to receive a gift of Toyota trucks, Benin recently had to accept a load of highly toxic pesticides from Japan. The pesticides, which have proved ineffective against locusts, often sit unused and leak into the ground, poisoning water supplies. Because the developed countries and their corporations would like to avoid receiving any more return shipments, plans are being developed to build incinerators in Africa. Environmentalists argue, however, that the incinerators would simply convert the pesticides into toxic emissions and ash. Moreover, the incinerators would only perpetuate Africa’s role as a cheap disposal site for developed countries` toxic waste.”13

“Germany Woos the U.N.”

“The German government has made a hard-to-refuse offer to the U.N. Development Program {UNDP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA): Relocate to Bonn and the nation will foot the bill for rent, moving expenses, and language lessons. Moreover, the government vows to increase its voluntary U.N. contributions substantially if its offer is accepted.”14

Women’s Declaration from Rio

“Women’s groups at the Women’s Tent in Rio put out a “Declaration by Women at the Global Forum.” The declaration is a call to action whose philosophy was developed in part from the views expressed at a conference on Debt and Trade organized by Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN). It “draws its inspiration from the Women’s Action Agenda ‘2l, DAWN’s Analysis, and also other women’s views at the Global Forum.”`

“Peggy Antrobus of DAWN made it clear that she was against population control, calling it a myth.” Population growth is not responsible for environmental degradation. It’s not true, it’s a lie,` she said.”

While the women object to population control, they nevertheless would empower government by turning to it for the provision of “comprehensive reproductive health care and family planning, including the right to pre and post natal care, safe and legal voluntary contraceptives and abortion, sex education, and information.”15 Unfortunately -along with the “provision” will come the control – as many women have tragically discovered.

CVS and Risks of Limb Anomalies

Pregnancy outcomes were reviewed in 436 patients who had undergone chorionic villus (CVS) sampling .… Excluding pregnancy terminations (18) and spontaneous abortions of chromosomally abnormal fetuses, total loss rates were 8% for transcervical CVS, 1% for transabdomonal CVS, and 7% when both techniques were used. Of 394 fetuses and infants who were evaluated, 13 had major congenital anomalies, including four cases of transverse limb reduction deformities, an extremely rare malformation associated with CVS.

Endnotes