The solution to overpopulation

Prioritizing and supporting reproductive preventive care is a cost-effective and harm-reducing action all of us need to take. Do this by donating to organizations like Planned Parenthood, who provide cost-friendly preventive care for all. Volunteer your time. Spread awareness of the consequences that unintended births threaten our planet with. Vote to support legislation that provides and emphasizes preventive care. These direct actions will counteract overpopulation, in turn, saving the economy, the environment and our people from complete catastrophe.

Providing accessible, intentional preventive care for people will reduce overpopulation. According to an article written by Health Affairs, authors explain how in the US, over 12 billion dollars in unnecessary government spending resulted from unintended pregnancies. In comparison, public funding for family planning helped prevent over 400,000 unplanned teenage pregnancies and nearly two million unintended pregnancies in total.

Inhibiting these pregnancies ensured over 800,000 fewer abortions and about 270,000 fewer miscarriages. Not only does the economy profit from preventing unwarranted pregnancy by minimizing unnecessary expenditures, but numerous health benefits accompany family planning and preventive reproductive care. Multiple studies have linked education and family planning with lower fertility trends. This link clearly supports the health benefits follow preventive care.

Rapid population growth — i.e. overpopulation — presents severe problems for our planet: poverty, strained infrastructure, social instability, disease and even death just to name some. Unwanted economic and environmental burdens, as well as extreme public health concerns, are major consequences existing because of overpopulation. Preventive reproductive health care is the solution.

Maddie Lee

Spokane