Catholics and Muslims for Choice

Abstract

It is heartening that many religious groups, previously indifferent to environmental protection and the dire consequences of overpopulation, are now expressing their alarm and beginning to act on their newfound knowledge. This is in part due to increased awareness of the consequences of global warming and pollution to the biosphere and human health. Our inability to control the AIDS epidemic through vaccine and drug development is another contributing factor. Faced with the prospect of its population doubling to over 300 million people in the next 40 years, Pakistan launched a massive project to promote contraception. With 156 million people, Pakistan is the world’s sixth most populous country, and it’s getting bigger by 1.86 percent a year. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on January 13, 2007 emphasized the importance of population control, contending that economic growth could only make a difference to the quality of life if society adopts practices promoting reproductive health and small families. However, he said the government was focusing on a broader spectrum of socio-economic development to forge improvements in health, education, gender equality and women empowerment. Moreover, the Madhya Pradesh government, inspired by the actions taken by the Pakistani government and influenced by a book written by Muzaffar Hussain entitled Census Islam and Family Planning, has devised a similar family planning program. “What comes in the way of family planning is ignorance and not religion,” said Health Minister Ajay Vishnoi. “The community should come out of darkness.” As reported on the Indo-Asian News Service in January 2007, mosques across Pakistan began distributing contraceptives and literature to spread awareness about the importance of family planning and safe sex. Approximately 22,000 clerics and 6,000 women scholars had been appointed and educated to inform the public of the benefits of small families. Moreover, programs were launched to make university-level students aware of these new norms. Clerics have been urged to inform people about the significance of family planning in their sermons, and contraceptives and literature have been distributed in mosques with the slogan “chhoto paribar, sukhi paribar” (small family, happy family). Impressive gains in population control have already been noticed by international aid agencies. Can Christian communities achieve similar rational goals, for the health and welfare of the people, and for the sake of future generations and the biosphere? It seems there are serious efforts in this direction. In recognition of World AIDS Day, Catholics from around the globe called on the Pope to lift the ban on condoms in order to help stem the spread of HIV and AIDS. On December 1, 2006, Catholics for Free Choice delivered a letter to Pope Benedict XVI, signed by thousands of believers from more than 110 countries, which asks him to recognize the health consequences Water Air Soil Pollut (2010) 205 (Suppl 1):S21–S22 DOI 10.1007/s11270-007-9356-6