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Population Control

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Submitted By MM531
Words 2515
Pages 11
Phil 140
Research Paper
18 December 2011
Population Control On October 31, 2011, the world acknowledged its 7th billion inhabitant. This number has doubled in just forty years (Worldometer). Some think it is clear that overpopulation is a major problem for today’s society. There are countries that enforce public population control and others yet who still have no official action plan to counteract the issue. Perhaps this is because not everyone sees overpopulation as a large issue. Is it the duty of the state to determine a woman’s right to bear children, or to force unwanted contraceptives in an effort to control population levels? For some, this is how their government rules. The imbalance of births over deaths around the world may show a potential problem with overpopulation; however population control is not moral. The world has a natural cycle; birth, life, then finally death. This process is repeated over and over again every minute of the day. When the number of births exceeds that of deaths, the circumstance is referred to as overpopulation. There are approximately 190 countries in the world, and according to the Overpopulation Index published in 2010, only 77 of those are considered overpopulated, many only by a fraction (World Atlas). Singapore is ranked number one, China is ranked number twenty nine, followed by the United States ranked as number thirty five. In the United States, the Constitution and Bill of Rights grants citizens many privileges such as freedom of speech and the freedom of religion. There is also the Freedom of Choice Act passed in 2004. It states “To prohibit, the interference by the government with a woman’s right to choose to bear a child or terminate a pregnancy, and for other purposes” (Bill Text). There are many aspects of reproduction encompassed by the Choice Act; all designed to ensure a women’s rights and choices in

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