Camouflaged?
Dear HLI Family,
On Monday, October 31st headlines across the globe announced the birth of a little girl from the city of Manila in the Philippines. Danica Camacho, one of a number of children chosen to be the world's symbolic seven billionth baby, became the symbol of a world in dire need of controlling its population, read the headlines. Population control advocates used the moment to once again promote their agenda of aggressive birth control, forced sterilization, abortifacient contraceptives and abortion. Doctor Eric Tayag of the Philippines' Department of Health summarized the heart of the population control issue:
Seven billion is a number we should think about deeply. We should really focus on the question of whether there will be food, clean water, shelter, education and a decent life for every child. If the answer is 'no,' it would be better for people to look at easing this population explosion.
Maybe without knowing, Doctor Tayag actually shed light on the core agenda of reproductive health advocates. They would have us believe that there are not enough resources to accommodate the world's population. They point to less developed nations' "overpopulation" as not being sustainable, and as such, placing a burden upon more developed nations. They speak of concern for the poor and their plight but do nothing to alleviate their burden. They rarely speak of corrupt governments who exploit their citizens and fail to provide a basic infrastructure to facilitate the needs of their people; and the few times they do, it is always done so as a means of covering for commensurate population control measures. Mainstream media, which tend to uncritically repeat the "overpopulation" narrative, often focus their reporting on densely populated cities like Manila, Sao Paulo, Tokyo and Hong Kong with throngs of people gathered in city centers.
If all development funds were directed toward improvement in education and infrastructure, and tied to investment and ownership initiatives rather than unqualified grants, we would be more likely to see sustainable human development. Such a development philosophy recognizes that a nation's greatest asset is its people, and to intentionally reduce this primary form of wealth is to undermine any real chance at development.
Pope Benedict XVI during World Day of Peace on December 12, 2008, prophetically shed light on this subject:
Poverty is often considered a consequence to demographic change. For this reason, there are international campaigns afoot to reduce birth rates, using methods that respect neither the dignity of the woman, nor the right of parents to choose responsibly how many children to have; graver still, these methods often fail to respect even the right to life. The extermination of millions of unborn children, in the name of the fight against poverty, actually constitutes the destruction of the poorest of all human beings.
Doctor Brian Clowes, director of research for HLI, while on a recent missionary trip to Kazakhstan, spoke to the same issue. The total fertility rate in Kazakhstan is hovering around 1.9 children per woman, which is well below the replacement rate of 2.1. As Dr. Clowes reported, "Once an anti-child attitude has been drilled into the minds of the people for three generations... their country will [begin to] die." Dr. Clowes notes that one would think that in a country dying from a lack of births would be encouraging its population to have children; however, it is the very opposite.
As noted by the Holy Father and Dr. Clowes, the driving force behind population control policies and agendas is revealed in the now-declassified 1973 US Government document, National Security Study Memorandum 200, which states:
The U.S. economy will require large and increasing amounts of minerals from abroad, especially from less developed countries...Wherever a lessening of population pressures through reduced birth rates can increase the prospects for such stability, population policy becomes relevant to resource supplies and the economic interests of the United States.
The message is clear. In order for wealthy nations to have greater access to a developing country's resources, the populations of lesser-developed nations must be reduced to a more manageable size. If the population is too large, then not only do nations tend to use more of their own resources, but the people become harder to control. More developed nations who have greater power, driven by consumption, are motivated by retaining control over the world's resources.
Kazakhstan is but one example. Consider the Philippines, Latin America, China, the Middle East and Africa where population controllers aggressively push their programs. They lobby politicians to inaugurate policies and laws that support their agenda, spend enormous amounts of money in promoting their causes, solicit media supporters to publically endorse their birth reduction plans both nationally and internationally, and amass tremendous amounts of funds from corporations and moguls, a massive war machine.
Surely, you might be thinking, this is not the case. Such claims sound too extreme or may even sound like a conspiracy theory. Population control groups only seek to defend the rights of women, protect populations from disease and famine and stop the world from suffocating as a result of too many people who are leaving too heavy a carbon footprint. Right? What is interesting is their somewhat clandestine, camouflaged approach takes aim at the poorest of humanity: Africans, Hispanics and Asians.
We have heard that the world's population could fit in the State of Texas. Texas encompasses 268,581 square miles. Based on world population figures from July 2011, the world's population is approximately 6,973,570,000. This means that one person would have nearly 1,074 square feet to live in the State of Texas, or live in a density somewhat similar to New York. And while it is true that the Catholic Church for good reason teaches responsible stewardship of resources, and is adamantly against ever-increasing materialistic excess, it is also true that there are enormous untapped resources worldwide, and no one claims that we have full knowledge of the remaining stores of resources. It is an absurdity to think that there is not enough space or resources to accommodate the world's population.
Will humanity be seen as the world's greatest resource? Will cultures and societies defend this resource? In Evangelium Vitae, Blessed John Paul II addressed the policies of governments who push population control ideologies. He related the Life issues of today to that of the Hebrew people being persecuted by the Egyptians. In order to keep the Hebrew people under control and enslaved, Pharaoh ordered the murder of every newborn male child. It is amazing how those in power use any means to maintain themselves and their way of life.
No, there are not too many people. The issue is that some are afraid of having less and having to share for the good and well being of all. Political corruption, greed and lust for power are what fuel the population control agenda. Power resides in the hands of a few and they lord it over others who have no recourse or ability to defend themselves. The truth about population control is camouflaged to hide its real agenda - smaller population for control of the world's resources.
As defenders of life and family, our work is cut out for us. But we know that the Lord of Life is not neutral in this fight, which is why we ask Him for the grace to do His will, and to proclaim the Gospel of Life in and out of season.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Father Shenan J. Boquet
President, Human Life International
