Population Control and Chemical Controversy

Have you ever thought about how large the world’s human population has gotten? Have you ever wondered how many millions of people are born each year? Have you ever considered the implications of not having enough resources to feed, clothe, and care for this many billions of people? We cannot already properly care for everyone that is alive now on the planet, but what will it be like in a 100 years if nothing is done now to help control this outrageous population growth? To this many solutions have been suggested, such as forced sterilization, family planning, a type of “life-boat” policy, and many others. But to coincide with these solutions, there are also many controversies.

One small organization, “Stop This OverPopulation” (STOP), believes in the idea of government control of human reproduction. They believe in “population education”, which essentially would be scaring people enough about the consequences of having another child and perhaps they won’t have one. Another solution proposed by this group is the use of quinacrine, a sterilization drug for women. Quinacrine is only one of the ways of sterilization. There is also surgery, and of course, the ever present birth control pill. But quinacrine acts in a different way. Although it has not yet been approved for testing in most places, it is a procedure that is gaining favor with certain population control advocates. The procedure itself is called quinacrine sterilization. Quinacrine are chemical pellets that are introduced into the uterus via a modified intrauterine device applicator. They are placed about ½ of a centimeter from the fundus. The pellets then dissolve, filling the upper womb and fallopian tubes with quinacrine hydrochloride. Quinacrine hydrochloride is a very strong acid. The acid leaves severe chemical burns in this sensitive tissue, which, in turn, leaves scarring, thus effectively blocking the fallopian tubes and preventing conception.

There are still many questions concerning the use of quinacrine as a sterilization tool. The full side effects of it are not yet known. So far this drug has been used mainly in the developing countries, to try to prevent overpopulation there. It has yet to be seriously advocated by the United States and many other countries. At this time there are no sure means to determine whether the drug has even achieved its purpose, besides an unexpected pregnancy. The extent of quinacrine as being a useful sterilization drug is still being highly debated.

Other groups and people have also suggested that one should need to obtain a license to have children. There would be a limit to the number of children one could have, and to exceed this set maximum one would need to obtain a permit. Anyone who disobeys this law would be forcefully sterilized. This proposal for population control has its obvious faults. First of all, there is the question of who is going to set the limit on children? How would one qualify; who would set the standards? What if a child is adopted? And a question that must be dealt with would be: what if a person were raped and had no choice in having a child? These would all be questions that would be necessary to answer. Another sensitive subject that fits in with this idea is the thought of abortion. Is it ethical to force someone to have an abortion? Of course most people today would be adamantly against this. But it is another subject that would require addressing.

A third solution to the overpopulation problem would be a type of “lifeboat policy.” In this policy the developing countries would be abandoned to fend for themselves. Their food supply from other countries would be cut off. The attitude that accompanies this idea is that these countries have had their shot, and have failed at controlling their own population. There is only so much food to go around, and the people who can contain themselves should be the ones to receive it. This policy is basically everyone for themselves; survival of the fittest, a Darwinian idea.

But it would not be fair to overlook the people that are on the other side of the line. There are scientists and organizations that are trying to find ways to promote fertility in already sterile adults. They have succeeded as well, by using an intracytoplasmic sperm injection to treat male infertility. Despite what seems to be so many people against overpopulation, there are yet those who insist on offering ways of fertility to the naturally sterile. These two groups seem to be counterbalancing each other, along with the split opinions of the public.

No matter, however, what you may think, whether you feel the need to control the human population growth rate, or feel that everyone should have children, it does not diminish the facts about depleting resources. The more people in the world, the more resources necessary to support the many nations. We may be able to manufacture scientifically quite a bit of the items we need to survive, we cannot, as of yet, develop all the essentials of life. While scientists, chemists, doctors, and many others work on this particular problem, we cannot forget that the overpopulation debate is still raging on. Will the world’s population not realize the significance of this looming dilemma until it’s too late? The solutions offered in this essay are quite controversial and may seem outrageously preposterous, but this is a problem that will not be able to be avoided much longer and an answer will have to be reached.