Fertility and Coercion

This article examines the implications of coercive population control measures and discusses the acceptability of coercion as a response to the "world population problem." The author argues that violating reproductive rights through the adoption of coercive population programmes is justifiable only when the consequences of not doing so would be dire. The author finds that the drastic population problems posited by theorists such as Paul Ehrlich and Thomas Malthus have failed to materialise. In addition, the author notes that programmes aimed at increasing women's education and economic independence have proven to be more successful in lowering fertility rates than coercive population programmes. Given these findings, the author concludes that coercive population control measures are difficult to justify. [Descriptors: Reproductive Rights - Reproductive Freedom, International]