This letter to the editor refers to an article on the "Baby Boom" published in 1998. The letter-writer, the Political Director of the Republican Pro-Choice PAC, concurs with the article that if the religious right holds sway in the US and is able to interfere with family planning assistance, the number of abortions will increase. The letter-writer then identifies Representative Chris Smith (Republican of New Jersey) and Representative Henry Hyde (Republican of Illinois) as the leaders of an anti-family planning alliance in Congress. The Republican Pro-Choice PAC is supported by Republicans who are concerned about overpopulation and want to elect members of their party who understand the importance of these issues and act accordingly.
This letter to the editor refers to an article on the "Baby Boom" published in 1998. The letter notes that no consensus exists among environmentalists about population growth or abortion and calls for more balance in coverage of these issues. The letter points out that, in animal and human populations, a "natural" suppression of reproduction occurs in the presence of a stable ecosystem. However, humans have forever changed the delicate balance of earth's ecosystems. The letter offers China as an example of a country whose drive to become an industrialized power is causing overuse, neglect, and destruction of natural resources. The letter concludes that efforts to obtain sustainability should involve a "more sobering look at free enterprise and the global economy."
American anti-abortion politics is blocking family planning (FP) funding around the world. US Representative Chris Smith, a Republican of New Jersey, attempted to amend a proposal that would require health-care providers of federal workers who cover prescription drugs to also pay for prescribed contraceptives. Smith's amendment would have exempted any contraceptive that inhibits implantation. This action was defeated but clearly revealed that this anti-abortion politician's agenda is also anti-FP. The right-wing has hampered Clinton administration efforts to support reproductive rights. There is a link between FP and the survival of the planet from an environmentalist point of view that recognizes the extreme danger of the resource depletion attendant upon overpopulation. The Vatican's opposition to reproductive rights has resulted in serious restrictions on the delivery of reproductive health care in cases where public hospitals have merged with Roman Catholic health corporations. The population problem is "fixable" but efforts to do so remain deadlocked by a vocal minority of conservatives.
