Global Population
This is a brief overview of the global population. It's helpful because it demonstrates that abortion is effective in staving off overpopulation by contributing to reducing the population rate by nearly 4 million people per year.
Climate change is a complex topic, and overpopulation is a concern because, according to Ideas (CBC RadioOne): Is overpopulation killing the planet?, "population growth is inextricably linked to the sources of energy that contemporary societies rely on," and so we defer to that Ideas programme as it provides a well-rounded overview on how the size of the global human population likely factors in to climate change.
Statistics on global birth, death, and abortion rates are revealed in this table, with a final tabulation. (It's standard practice for abortions to not be conflated with deaths since abortion is a normal-and-reasonable reproductive-health option that merely terminates a pregnancy.)
| Population | 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Births | 132,400,000 | + | |
| Deaths | 63,100,000 | - | |
| Abortions | 73,000,000 | - | |
| Total | −3,700,000 | ||
These statistics help to confirm that abortions provide a preventive part of the solution to overpopulation that is less demanding on a wide variety of resources.
From a philosophical standpoint, "population decline" is used by many anti-abortion/forced-birther people to attempt to justify their position, yet at a fundamental level it's important to ask if it really is necessary for the human species to carry on forever. With the current size of the human population and the rates of change therein, it seems extinction won't be a problem for hundreds of generations to come, even if the current downward trend remains consistent.
Sources
- Ideas (CBC RadioOne): Is overpopulation killing the planet?
- Our World in Data (statistics: births and deaths)
- World Health Organization (WHO) (statistics: abortions)
- Abortion FAQ :: Global Population (this web page)
See also