Population-Growth
		"El Papa no tiene ninos"               —Mexican woman in clinic, Del Rio, Texas
	That the instinct to reproduce is a dominating instinct in every living thing is a truism. The advent of better nutrition, housing, sanitation, and to some extent vaccines and antibiotics have greatly reduced mortality from infectious diseases in developed and to some extent in undeveloped countries. This decrease in mortality from infectious diseases, one of the leading causes of death during reproductive years, al¬lowed human reproduction to proceed largely unchecked. The AIDS pandemic, like other pandemics, will run its course regardless of medical intervention, but will not significantly influence human population growth.       Statistics about the ever growing population are known to most of the literate people of the world. Recent world-wide congresses to address this get nowhere. They are stalemated by dominating economic, religious and ethnic considerations. What are the qualities, other than a simple biological urge to reproduce, that are unique to humans that make this stalemate and the ever doubling population inevitable?       Throughout recorded history there has been the belief that humans possess a "spiritual" part of being as distinct from the purely physical. This is an integral universal part of human thought. Human consciousness is largely interpreted as being supernatural, (this last bastion of supernaturalism is finally being scientifically investigated). Cultural practices reflect this belief. The belief that the conceived embryo, at some point in its development, acquires a soul is responsible for the birth of billions (at just which point is the source of acrimonious squabbles.) Because laws regarding birth control and abortion world-wide are based on this belief, the individual is forced to abide by the constraints imposed by this belief. The human misery caused by this belief is incalculable. It is largely responsible for millions of starving children, the growing number of largely preventable men¬tally and physically handicapped, the millions of women who die from illegal abortions. Perhaps the staunch defenders of the "soul" would derive pleasure from the sight of children picking over miles of burning garbage in Pozo Rico (how ironic that name) Mexico, or the third degree burns in a three year old child resulting from sitting on a tub of hot ashes used to heat a one room adobe hut occupied by nine people in south Texas. Or perhaps the universal desire to be seen as showing compassion, tenets of many religions, make the unimaginable misery experienced by the objects of this compassion a necessity. But the most terrible result of preserving the "soul" at all cost is the unwanted children who are mutilated, prenatally drug intoxicated, and infected with sexually ac¬quired diseases, abused and murdered or who become social burdens, welfare dependents, drug addicts and peddlers and criminals overfilling jails and accounting for most of the social ills.       For many years, I worked as a doctor in family planning clinics along the US-Mexico border serving mostly poor Latin women. Each one of these women professed Catholicism and, if asked would firmly declare her belief in la alma. Yet they one and all used birth control when available, often over the dictates of their husbands. They simply did not want to have children who would be hungry, sick and poor. Recent studies of fertility rates in the developing world show fertility rates are directly determined by the prevalence of contraceptives more than any other factor. While these studies are necessary, to anyone working with these women, certainly Latin American women, such conclusions are obvious. Al¬most daily I was asked to provide some means for abortion. I can easily believe the figures showing 25% of all pregnancies in Latin American end in induced abortion. Along the border it is common practice to utilize the services of a comadrona on the Mexican side, often resulting in sepsis, incomplete abortion, hemorrhage and all too often death. These horrendous facts are more or less common knowledge. World policy and laws of state, based on so called "moral principles" make these immoral, in the real sense of the word, catastrophes to human life.       We are inundated with accounts of loss of rainforest, danger to the ozone layer and loss of habitat for birds and other animals. We are shown beautiful and often touching pictures or given descriptions of vanishing species. Bird watchers tramping through forest, field and swamp in clothing and paraphernalia designed especially for tramping through forest, field and swamp, bemoan the decrease in the number of song birds. But no one thinks about the poor Brazilian or Costa Rican who must provide a living for this family of twelve by destroying the winter habitat of song birds.       There is, however, plenty of thought about all the trucks, chain saws, tractors, not to mention refrigerators, washing machines, radios and television sets he might buy by clearing the rain forest. In human society the instinct to reproduce has been exploited for economic reasons. World economy is dependent of over population. Human population growth is essential to those who profit from overproduction and those whose livelihood depends on overproduction. It is the unabashed promise of politicians and policy of governments to provide livelihood for the masses by overproduction. A world-wide concern is to bring the so called third world population up to western "standards." This means to make third world consumers on a level with western consumers. Suppose there were no gullible millions with resources to buy the billions of products most of them unnecessary? One can only suppose, however, because this cannot happen. Human society is based on this dog chasing its tail system: consumers, production, jobs, back to consumers, a system which feeds on overpopulation and overproduction. Unfortunately, world policy is not based on the dignity of human existence. It is rather based on the sacrosanct idea of the "soul" on the one hand and the elevation of greed to a societal necessity on the other hand.       What could ever change this? This is a futile question. The very concept of basic changes necessary is anathema. The qualities which have brought about current human society are those which have evolved for two to three hundred thousand years which make survival possible. Growth of human population will continue until it is no longer sustainable by the earth.