Nonreproductive Birthrates in Europe
Every single country in the European Union has been affected by the depopulation crisis. The Swedish national statistics office (SCB) recently reported that “fertility in all EU countries does not correspond to full reproduction, which means population decrease.” All 15 member countries of the EU have birthrates below the level needed to replace population (2.1). The average fertility rate in the EU is 1.5, with live countries — Italy, Spain, Greece, Austria and Germany — having below that amount, and the other ten between 1.5 and 2.0. Of the twelve countries currently applying for membership in the EU, only Cyprus and Malta have birthrates over 1.5. Turkey, which has not yet started negotiating for EU membership, has a remarkable fertility rate of 2.5.
As fertility rates continue to fall, population aging becomes a question of immediate concern. In Italy, one in three persons will be over 61 by 2020. Ireland, with the youngest population in the EU, will have one of every five people over 60. The EU is holding a summit in Stockholm, Sweden in March to discuss “the challenges posed by demographic change.” It is ironic that while the EU expresses concern about population aging and falling birthrates in its own part of the world, it continues to promote population control for less developed nations.
(“EU Population is Falling, Sweden Says,” Reuters. 15 March 2001)
Swiss Now Abort
The Swiss parliament has approved a measure legalizing abortion in Switzerland. Abortion has been illegal in Switzerland since 1942, although liberal abortion laws have been passed in parts of the country. The new law, which allows abortions up to 12 weeks gestation, passed the National Council with a vote of 107–69. The small house of parliament, the Council of States, passed the legislation by a smaller margin of 22–20.
Although the law has passed parliament, it will not immediately go into effect. The Christian People’s Party immediately announced they would collect 100,000 opposing signatures. This means the law will be put to a national referendum at the next national vote, which is not expected to take place for several years.
Currently, there are approximately 13.000 abortions performed annually in Switzerland, a number which would undoubtedly increase with the enactment of this law.
(“Swiss Parliament Gives Go-Ahead for Abortion Legalization,” Xinhua News Agency, 14 March 2001; Bettina Stadelntann, “Swiss lawmakers legalize abortion; law immediately challenged,” Associated Press, 23 March 2001)
Bjorn Says Let Babies be Born!
It seems that most celebrities are on the side of those who think the world’s overpopulated. It is newsworthy whenever a celebrity publicly recognizes that babies are blessings not burdens. Former tennis champion Bjorn Borg is one of those who realize that there aren’t enough babies being born. The five-time Wimbledon champion took out a full-page ad in a prominent Swedish newspaper to encourage his fellow Europeans to start having babies. The ad read in part “We have a bit of a delicate problem here in the Western world: there aren’t enough babies being born. If nothing drastic happens soon, there won’t be anyone who can work and put up for our pensions.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
(“Bjorn Borg wants Europe to have more sex,” Ananova, 9 March 2001)
Chinese Children Work and Die
Certainly no one familiar with China’s one-child policy and their host of other human rights abuses would claim that China is a nation where respect for the human person reigns. Still, the casual attitude towards human life expressed recently by an official in China is particularly jarring. The remark came after 37 young schoolchildren died in a firecracker explosion in a Jiangxi province school on March 6. The third-graders were being forced to insert fuses and detonators into large firecrackers in order to provide extra income for their teachers. After the accident, anguished parents appealed to a local official, Li, the head of Tanbu township, for an explanation. Li responded to the parents that “It’s not so bad, it’s like a kind of family planning.” He was forced to run for his life.
Ding Mingxing, whose nine-year-old son was killed in the explosion, asked “Can you imagine an official, member of the Communist Party, saying that to the masses?” Yes, Ding, I’m afraid we can.
(John Pomfret and Philip Pan, “Blast Kills 37 Students in China,” Washington Post, 9 March 2001)
