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Hajer Al Salman

Melissa Quitadamo

UWRT 1102

3rd May, 2017

Effective Methods for Population Control

Population control refers to the systematic regulation of the number of

persons in a particular state and addressing the subject of under or

overpopulation. Today the worlds human population is generally over seven

billion. Over one billion people of this population are on the verge of

starvation and even a higher populace have no absolute access to clean

water (Kuo 23). All these effects are linked to overpopulation as earth is

unable to sustain the population with a scarcity of resources. Schlanger and

Wolfson (33), asserts that overpopulation is an adequate proof of the

necessity for more water and housing, as well as additional necessities. The

worlds populace has doubled since the mid-20th century, which is just the

last century. Overpopulation is causing the climatic condition to change while

the cost of living and unemployment rate continues to rise. The world is

depleting resources since the more the populace the higher the usage. As

the population continues to rise more resources will be required in sustaining

the high populace. In my opinion, it is apparent that population growth is a

societal issue that need to be addressed. Birth control offers the best and the

easiest way of controlling the rate of population growth based on its

reliability and cost efficient.

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According to Jenkins (1), the global population has risen by an

approximation 7 degrees since the 20th century. Even though this may not be

accounted as a significant change it can lead to detrimental effects. Global

warming is resulting in severe droughts particularly in the equatorial areas

and most of these areas already have water scarcity, food scarcity, and

increased mortality rates. Overpopulation offers increased opportunities for

the rise of social, economic, and environmental evils such as pollution,

overcrowding, scarcity of resources, unemployment, poverty, and illnesses

(Schlanger and Wolfson 33). At this point, it is, therefore, necessary that

some measures to control population are enforced.

According to Schlanger and Wolfson (37), birth control leads to the

reduction of the rate of birth, unwanted pregnancies, the death of infants,

and serves as a cost control strategy. Unwanted pregnancies are a common

occurrence in the US and across the globe (Goldsmith et al 332). The

population is expected to rise even prior to the period and at a slow but

damaging rate; this will begin to ameliorate environmental risks that are

linked with water scarcity, climatic change, loss of biodiversity, food, as well

as energy globally. More than 40 percent of pregnancies worldwide are not

normally intentional and the higher population is in the developed rather

than the developing states (Schlanger and Wolfson 37). The global

population increase rate has decreased in recent years as the sizes of

families have fallen because modern contraceptives have grown to be more

accessible and popular. The concepts and the practice of population control
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have been opposed highly in the past with the oppositions coming from

social, political as well as religious grounds. The use of sterilization and

abortion to control population are some of the aspects of population control

that have been opposed (Shadbunova and Kalachikova 25). The use of

contraceptives is the easiest and the most effective birth control method in

lowering the rate of population growth. The strategy has mainly been

effective in developing and developed states particularly the Islamic states

which are characterized by rapid population growth. Birth control is not often

associated with technical challenges with the widespread contraception

implementation since it is cheaper. The method is particularly adapted on

the national scale. In ensuring that the method is a success, a large number

of professional workers is always a necessity that is required to provide

education to the public in regard to the most suitable utilization of

contraceptives (Shabunova and Kalachikova 25).

Contraception has the highest potential of lowering the sizes of

families without the application of pressure or creating conflicts within

communities. This permits a greater amount of resources to be distributed to

all children, developing their general chances for acquiring a quality

education, nutrition, and healthcare (Schlanger and Wolfson 36). This can

additionally act as a strategy for controlling the rate of abortions and infant

mortality that leads to trauma, thus affecting individual productivity.

Contraception as a method of controlling the rate of birth empowers people

and particularly women by offering them reproductive control approaches.

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Through the different rate of pregnancies, this helps in the restoration of

most opportunities, for instance employment, educational, political, and

social advancement. Birth control can thus be utilized as a long-run

investment towards greater protection and high political reform for the rights

of women. As most women get into the political and workforce systems their

opinions are highly likely to listen and thus their concerns are mostly likely to

be addressed. In modern society birth control is rapidly being embraced and

thus birth control permits woman the capability for the biological measure

over the general bearing of children (Schlanger and Wolfson 37).

Contraception is the most suitable strategy for saving the lives of

infants and of women, particularly in developing states. These states are

characterized by the lack of obstetric healthcare, malnutrition, and the

spread of illnesses; there are always high mortality rates amid the newborn

parents and the newborn kids. The risk can be over a hundred times greater

in comparison to that of mothers existing in developed states. In this

context, birth control permits women to avoid the general risk of being

pregnant without planning. Egypt and Iran have widely accepted and

encouraged the utilization of contraceptives where they have supplemented

family planning initiatives with offering female education programs and the

development of healthcare, which has led to a reduction of population

growth (Kuo 23). Egypt is among the leading states where contraceptives

have been adopted in high rates and the ability to control population cannot

be doubted. It is demonstrated by both Iran and Egypt that comprehensive

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contraception initiatives that are highly supported by religious, media, and

governmental leaders can result in drastic reduction in the growth of

population rates of fertilization which are extensively understood to relieve

economic pressure (Kuo 23). Iran has acquired significant success in lowering

the general birth rate in recent years. This has been accomplished through

the emphasis of smaller families by government as well as the adoption of

contraceptives and the agenda is accomplished through making assertions

on training courses prior to marriage (Schlanger and Wolfson 38).

Promoting the use of contraceptives is a simplified strategy through

which the developing states can help in coping with the crisis of population

and the associated development-stifling. As compared to the offering of

monetary aids by the developed nations, contraceptives are not likely to be

misdirected into the corrupt officials pockets (Schlanger and Wolfson 32).

Contraception allows women to make appropriate choices and offers more

options for their respective families. Contraception considers the girths of

individuals by permitting them to make choices on the type of care that they

would wish to acquire regarding birth control. Unlike other strategies, birth

control does not deprive women of the freedom to make the right choices

that are based on their preferences. The inability of contraception in

controlling the growth of education is affected by the lack of adequate

training on the benefits and the usage. It is accounted that more than 200

million women are not using any contraception methods despite them having

the desire to delay or even stop childbearing (Schlanger and Wolfson 38).
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Contraception lowers the need of conducting more abortions, especially the

unsafe practices that lead to death. Contraception strengthens the rights of a

person in determining the general number of children to have and the

spacing of children. Through the prevention of pregnancies that are not

intended, contraception prevents the occurrence of deaths and health

complications. Contraception permits individuals to attain the desired

children, thus preventing socio-economic constraints (Schlanger and Wolfson

33).

Promoting family planning and enhancing the accessibility and the

availability of the preferred contraceptive strategies for couples and women

is important in securing the wellness and the freedom of women while

supporting both the development of health and communities. The ability of a

woman to choose when and if they should get pregnant holds a direct effect

both for wellness and health (Roig 49). Based on the evidence, it is apparent

that having more than four children increases maternally related mortalities.

In addition, contraception can additionally prevent births that are closely

linked with ill timing which results in poor health as well as high death rates.

Through planning the number of infected infants as well as orphans in the

society is lowered, particularly among the HIV-infected persons. Promoting

contraception also lowers adolescent pregnancies. Adolescence pregnancies

are linked with preterm or lowered weights for newborns (Roig 49). These

babies hold the highest neonatal mortality rates and becoming pregnant as

an adolescent forces individuals to leave school. This has long-run effects for
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individuals, communities, and enhancing education levels. Family planning

permits individuals to make decisions that are highly informed in regard to

reproductive and sexual health (Gnther and Harttgen 57). Contraception

depicts opportunities for women to pursue further learning and higher

participation in the public, which includes payment from non-communal

organizations. Moreover, having fewer children or reduced family sizes

permits parents to make their investment in a single child and children who

have fewer siblings are more likely to remain in school longer as compared to

those with numerous (Roig 49).

Contraception is the key strategy that can assist in reducing

unsustainable population increase and the resulting negative effects on the

environment, economy, and region as well growth efforts. It is essential that

contraceptives are widely accessible and can be acquired at ease via

midwives and healthcare workers to individuals that are sexually, including

adolescents (Roig 49). However, there is a great need to provide education in

schools in regard to birth control to eliminate the existing misassumption

regarding population control. Most individuals will not use contraception

because of their health concerns that are linked with the approaches.

Education will, therefore, help in ensuring that individuals understand the

associated benefits and risks as well help them to make sound decisions.

Universal education should be offered in schools to eradicate

misunderstanding and population control illiteracy, and thus create health

and economic opportunities for every child. Unlike other control strategies,
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contraception is characterized with choices since one may still engage in

reproduction but at a desired rate and number. In addition, midwives should

also be trained to ensure that they offer locally accessible contraception

methods that are also accepted culturally. Counseling should additionally be

provided to families on some methods of planning such as condoms and pills

(Roig 49).

Contraception already averts over 112 million cases of abortion every

year, according to estimates made by the U.N (Baird 19). Family planning

can be considered to be morally laudable in Christian beliefs based on its

major contributions to the wellness of families, health of women and the

capability to prevent abortions (Baird 22). Population control can be achieved

through the use of contraception by offering universal availability and access

to effective and safe contraceptive choices for both males and females. 29

percent of the married women wants the family plan but have no access due

lack of appropriate family planning healthcare services and the lack of

education in regard to contraception are amongst the leading barriers in

assuring that each child is wanted and also welcomed prior to its arrival by

the both parents (Schlanger and Wolfson 33).

One of the most effective measures in promoting contraception use is

to ensure that measures reflecting social transformation are implemented.

Offering education to the public creates understanding of the need to have a

single child or two children. Families that are faced with challenging lives and

opt to have fewer children are bound to easily overcome as compared to

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those that settle for more children (Schlanger and Wolfson 38). Efficient birth

control and family planning can assist women in making personal

reproductive choices. When teaching about overpopulation, assertion should

be made on voluntary and open dialogue regarding abortions and morality

rate. Creating awareness in regard to birth control is important since allowing

them to understand the general consequences of overpopulation can be

useful in controlling the growth of population. The best technique is creating

increased understanding regarding safe sex and the available contraceptive

options in avoiding unintended pregnancies. Sex education should be

encouraged in association with tax benefits. Different states governments

should implement policies to exempt taxes on contraceptives to make them

less costly. This will directly create affordability and trigger the curiosity of

utilizing contraceptives (Shabunova and Kalachilkova 33).

In my opinion, I agree that birth control is the best strategy to control

the growth of population since it attempts to delay the arrival

unsustainability issues. Voluntary contraception is a cost effective approach

to the reduction of poverty, environmental, and conflict damages. The belief

that family planning is incorrect since the cost of raising and investing in

more children is even higher. The lack of accurate and adequate information

is a major cause of the existing overpopulation. The poor social groups are

highly ignorant and most of them do not really understand the effects of

being overpopulated. Most individuals from these population are afraid of the

associated side impacts and that it is why most of the women are engaged in
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having more kids even if they do not intend to or they do not have any

economic ways of providing. Poverty is an additional consequence of

overpopulation due to the inability to sustain the population. Accessibility,

availability, and affordability of contraception should be enhanced to ensure

that birth control becomes an effective population control approach. The

availability of clean water, adequate food, clean environment, and shelter,

among other necessary resources should be accounted for in the evaluation

of overpopulation extent. Overpopulation results in the lowering of general

lifes quality by encouraging unemployment, which in turn leads to poverty,

low- quality education, and healthcare.

In conclusion, the population is a chief issue in the world today, with

the world population over 7 billion and anticipated to be over 10.5 billion by

2050 with 70 percent living in the city (Schlanger and Wolfson 34). With the

global strain of the environment and resources today, it is apparent that a

global environmental disaster is waiting to occur as the booming of the

population is being driven by time. While reproduction can be stated as a

major part of families, it is an ultimate human right and it is good to account

that rights are directly linked with responsibilities. The world today is

responsible for generations in the future and thus population growth through

the use of birth control is one of the suitable strategies for ensuring that

natural resources will still remain for our descendants. Contraception can be

described as an easy and a straightforward strategy of reducing population

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growth. The effectiveness of the use of contraception in most of the

developing and developed states is the primary verification of this.

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Work Cited

Baird, Joni. Reproductive Rights Go Green. Humanist 69, no . 5 (2009): 18-

22.

Goldsmith, Kimberley A., et al. unintended Childbearing and Knowledge of

Emergency Contraception in a Population-Based Survey of Postpartum

Women. Maternal & Child Health journal 12, no . 3 (2008): 332-341.

Gnther, Isabel, and Kenneth Harttgen. Desired Fertility and Number of

Children Born across Time and Space. Demography 53, no . 1 (2016):

55-83.

Jenkins, Michelle. Poverty Is the New Crime. DePaul Journal for Social

justice 10, no . 1 (2017): 1-7.

Kuo, Gioietta. Megacrisis? Overpopulation Is the Problem. World Future

Review (World Future Society) 4, no . 3 (2012): 23-32.

Roig, Jaime Nadal. We Know What to Do; All We Need IS to Do It.

Environmental Forum 34, no . 2 (2017): 49.

Schlanger, ZO, and Elijah Wolfson. Too Many People. Newsweek Global

163, no . 25 (2014): 30-41.

Shabunova, A. A., and O.N. Kalachikova. Characteristics of the Reproductive

Behavior of the Population. Sociological Research 53, no . 1 (2014):

22-34.
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