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Article: Six billion and growing.(the official announcement of the sixth billionth human on earth brought forth a variety of opinions on family planning)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Christian Century
- Article date:
- October 27, 1999
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 The Christian Century Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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KOFI ANAN, general secretary of the United Nations, marked the birth of the world's 6 billionth human being in Sarajevo on October 12. What this milestone means, however, is a matter of debate among religious activists and ethicists.
On one side are religious leaders, ranging from liberal American Protestants to conservative Iranian Muslims, who see family planning as essential to stem a population growth threatening to overrun the Earth's environment and resources. On the other side are those, including some Roman Catholics, who dismiss such apocalyptic predictions of population bombs. They fear that massive family planning campaigns are leading to forced ...