The indication that the U.S. birth rate has recently declined is a great trend. Unfortunately, the global trend is not so positive: Every second of every day our global population increases by 2.6 people. Worldwide, nearly half of all pregnancies are unintended. In the developing world, 214 million women want to avoid pregnancy, but aren’t using modern contraception; and in those same countries, at current birth rates, populations will double in the next 30 years.
In a world where we’re changing the climate to an unknown end, with more crowding and pollution our quality of life is deteriorating (like along the Wasatch Front), and where food insecurity is rising; the common undercurrent to these and many other social and environmental problems is uncontrolled, unsustainable population growth.
As a rich country, we bear some responsibility to assist countries with fewer resources to curb these out-of-control trends; but unfortunately the current administration is racing in the opposite direction with the Trump Global Gag Rule and reduced funding for the U.N. Population Fund.
Come November, please consider these facts and vote for candidates that are enlightened on these issues, such that they will argue to reverse this administration’s trend.
John Kennington, Cottonwood Heights
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