Background

The world experienced an exponential demographic increase in the twentieth century reaching a whopping 7.7 billion people presently. The population projected to reach 9 billion by 2050 (Engelman 33). However, the increasing population in the world today poses challenges such as loss of biodiversity, climate change as a result of human activity, scarcity of water and food insecurity. Most people fear that further population increase, therefore, may make the world unable to sustain the population in light of the basic needs of food and housing (Engelman 33). In that sense, government strategies to restrain parents from having their desired number of children has taken shape in society today, attracting opposing views and perceptions from different social dimensions, including the influential social realm.

Planned Parenthood is a precautionary principle which is applied logically to help humanity cope with the current environmental problems and achieve sustainability of the environment today with a smaller population (Engelman 34). According to the United Nations, an increase in the population of human beings, the far-reaching irreversible impacts on the environment also increases. For instance, the increase in human populations increases carbon emissions to the environment given the increased consumption of fossil fuels as a source of energy. If the projective population of the world is reduced from the expected nine billion to eight billion, then about 5.1 tons of carbon dioxide emissions would have been saved according to the US and European climate and demographic researchers (Engelman 35).

According to Engelman, society today values human rights, personal autonomy, privacy, democracy, and determination, attributes which also influence demographic change (p 35). For that, interception of population growth requires an ethical approach that would not infringe on the universal human rights and freedoms. As determined by the United Nations conference in Cairo (1994), implementation of population control strategies by governments, especially those that focus on the health and well-being of women would significantly contribute to a slower population growth rate (Engelman 35). Provision of information on the intervals of births, the timing for pregnancies, shrinks on family size, and reduction of teen births are among the essential considerations that can improve not only maternal health but also child survival and slow growth of populations (Engelman 35).

Introduction

Planned parenting refers to the provision of information and resources that can enable individuals to anticipate and attain the number and spacing of children that they desire (Clayton & Adrienne 3). It involves the use of different contraceptive methods to prevent pregnancy, abortion of unwanted pregnancies, and treatment of involuntary sterility to limit family size. The use of birth control methods enables couples to decide when to have children (Clayton & Adrienne 3). It involves sexual education, pre-conception counseling, infertility management, and control of sexually transmitted infections. According to Clayton & Adrienne (2009), Family planning is among the greatest achievements in the health field according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The ability of people to control their spacing, timing and number of their children has significantly improved the social and economic well-being of the American population (p 4). Research has proven that small families have lower infant mortality, ease in meeting the basic needs of children, and an overall improved maternal health.

In the United States, family planning was introduced in the early twentieth century and continuously improved to modernism. With programs such as Title X, the federal government started funding family planning practices. However, the policy of family planning has taken a dramatic direction change in recent past following enacting of legislation that limits the access of abortion services (Aiken & James 413). Abortion, as a method of birth control, has been a controversial matter which encountered different setbacks formed by a change in attitude and general perception by the public. Different contraception methods have unavoidably been entangled in the debate about abortion causing restrictions to voluntary access to contraceptives (Aiken & James 413). In the second half of the last century, the debate of funding family planning services lingered in the bipartisan politics of the United States causing deep political divisions. Up to date, the United States continues to experience disparities in the different states such as Florida, Minnesota, Texas, Washington, Montana, Maine, New Jersey, Texas, and Wisconsin (Aiken & James 414).  Additionally, provision of abortion services in some states remain illegal and hence cannot be funded by those states as part of the contraceptive measures. Among the major happenings of the recent past is the teaming up of few Democrats with the Republicans in Texas to exclude abortion excluded clinics from the Women Health Program and lifting of the Medicaid funding on contraceptives (Aiken & James 414). This paper will analyze Planned Parenthood, advantages its associated advantages and disadvantages, ethical considerations and opinion of it should be supported or opposed in the United States

Works Cited

Aiken, Abigail RA, and James G. Scott. “Family planning policy in the United States: the converging politics of abortion and contraception.” Contraception 93.5 (2016): 412-420. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4842098/

Engelman, Robert. “An end to population growth: Why family planning is key to a sustainable future.” Solutions for a Sustainable and Desirable Future 2.3 (2011): 32-41. Retrieved from https://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/article/an-end-to-population-growth-why-family-planning-is-key-to-a-sustainable-future/

Clayton, Ellen Wright, and Adrienne Stith Butler, eds. A review of the HHS family planning program: mission, management, and measurement of results. National Academies Press, 2009. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK215217/pdf/Bookshelf_NBK215217.pdf