Lancet Editorial Links Access To Birth Control, Benefits To The Environment

Providing no-cost contraception to women in developing countries could help slow population growth -- and thus climate change -- according to an editorial by Leo Bryant of Marie Stopes International published Friday in the journal Lancet, the AP/Google News reports. According to the editorial, more than 200 million women worldwide want access to modern contraceptives but do not have it, resulting in 76 million unintended pregnancies annually. Family planning is much less costly than typical methods used to fight climate change, the editorial states. It cites a British report that found each $7 spent on basic family planning would translate into a one-ton reduction in carbon dioxide emissions (AP/Google News, 9/18).

Bryant -- the lead researcher on the World Health Organization study of climate change and population growth -- said that there is a stigma attached to contraception in both developing and developed countries that is hindering progress. According to the WHO study, nearly all of the world's 40 poorest countries have linked rapid population growth to an environmental impact, but only six have proposed steps to address the issue.

The world's population is on pace to increase by one-third -- to more than nine billion people -- by 2050, with 95% of that growth in developing countries, Reuters/Fox News reports. Bryant notes in the editorial that most countries with good access to birth control experience a dramatic decrease in average family size within a generation.

Bryant said, "We are certainly not advocating that governments should start telling people how many children they can have." He added, "The ability to choose your family size ... is a fundamental human right. But lack of access to family planning means million of people in developing countries don't have that right" (Kelland, Reuters/Fox News, 9/18).


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