Contraception in Copenhagen
BMJ 2013; 346 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f3602 (Published 04 June 2013) Cite this as: BMJ 2013;346:f3602
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While connection of the antiabortion legislation in Africa to the then English legislation is notable, I should like to pay attention to another relict practice.
In the USSR abortions were for a time prohibited, for these do not gave more soldiers to comrade Stalin. After him abortions were freely available. Of course, contraception was almost unavailable.
At the same time abortions were pictured as a harmful intervention necessary for stupid females who cannot prevent undesirable pregnancy. After the crash of the USSR the role of the Orthodox church grew (and is still growing - the Patriarch now even enjoying the free Government jumbo for long trips). Women, requesting abortions became pictured as immoral creatures killing the innocent life inside themselves. This is not the extremist shame phrases, but a law. Under the legislation introduced in 2011 the request for voluntary abortion in the early stage of pregnancy may be granted only after woman goes through a"psychology" support session with official participation of the person from the Orthodox church.
The negative image of the women in need of abortion, poverty of the health care system, absence of the drug provision in ambulatory care - all these lead to the dominance of abrasion as a technique of the abortion. This way women not only are shamed and blamed, but also tortured.
Because of the availability of most drugs in drug stores without prescription, an unknown number of Russian women practice self-abortion. Probably, the part of the significant reduction in the abortion rate in Russia is due to a switch to the new technique beside the unfriendly health care system.
This is a shame to study the home country, and to see the return of the medieval policies and slow progress of medical technology. The method of "killing the Chaushesku" is impressive in the short perspective, but the reform of the health care and the liberalization of society takes time.
Competing interests: No competing interests
Re: Contraception in Copenhagen
Humanity's present global course guarantees its extinction.1 Overpopulation leads to poverty, overcrowding, pollution of air and water.2 Together with increasing unemployment and food shortages, these factors will greatly decrease the quality of life for billions of people.3 Countries exhibiting population growth are not likely to spontaneously fall below replacement fertility.4 Ecological damage and depletion of non-renewable resources are proportional to population size.1,5 Food production cannot increase indefinitely without soil depletion, desertification, deforestation and other environmental degradation.6 Humankind can choose to check population growth by reducing the birth rate – instead of raising the death rate 7 by means of famine, epidemics or homicide, as it has been usual throughout history. Humanity is in a demographic cul de sac,8 but no workable solutions have been proposed. Potential solutions require the propagation of new ethical principles, that no population group should obtain advantages because of its numerical size. On the contrary, those who have had many children should logically live in more narrow conditions. Without procreative competition, different peoples will be likely to live in peace and help each other as good neighbours do.
High fertility was propagandised in the age of global conflicts and the Cold War to replenish military and manpower resources. Population control has been obfuscated by conflicting national and global interests: population growth has often been regarded as a means of sovereignty and economic advance. Even today, there are exhortations to increase the birth rate, especially in Russia, accompanied by misinformation about allegedly severe complications of contraception and abortions, which are pictured by propaganda as harmful interventions and sins (9). Note that all religious objections against contraception and abortions are groundless because they are not mentioned in the Scriptures and sacred texts.
The most reliable method of birth control is sterilisation. The last (or single) birth should be carried out as often as possible by caesarean section; although more costly, this procedure poses less risk to the newborn and expedites sterilisation by fallopian tube resection. Vasectomy would also be efficient, especially in a milieu where polygamy is practiced.
The community of interests of all mankind becomes evident today. Global birth control would require investments and managerial efforts; all simpler and less expensive solutions would be less humane. As a source of financing, oil and gas revenues, which are largely spent in a wasteful manner, could be used. Only by concentrating authority within a powerful international executive, based in the most developed parts of the world, can globalised leadership break the vicious circus of international competition and conflicts. More details are in.10,11
Many projects could be accomplished by a globalised mankind: construction of irrigation facilities for drought-stricken lands; and nuclear, solar, tidal and other power plants to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels. Scientific research should be revitalised and purged of scientific misconduct.12 Such steps would create work for many people. Not much is required for that: a globalised administration and English as the first or second language for everyone. Moreover, should the birth rate decline in the future, it means that the workforce is at its maximum now, and it is an opportunity to accomplish great projects. Therefore, propaganda should popularise the image of hardworking people, which must become a pattern of identification for young people.
1. Van Niekerk J.P.de V. Humans - a threat to humanity. S Afr Med J 2008; 98(3):163.
2. Greep RO. Whither the global population problem. Biochem Pharmacol 1998; 55(4): 383-386.
3. Robey B. Asia's demographic future: the next 20 years. Asia Pac Pop Policy 1990; (14): 1-4.
4. Lutz W, Qiang R. Determinants of human population growth. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2002; 357: 1197-1210.
5. Desvaux M. The sustainability of human populations: How many people can live on earth? Significance 2007; September: 102-107.
6. Reddy PH. India in the demographic trap. Janasamkhya 1989; 2: 93-102.
7. Russell C, Russell WM. Population crises and population cycles. Med Confl Surviv 2000; 16(4): 383-410.
8. Vishnevsky AG. Selected Works in Demography. Moscow: Nauka, 2005 (in Russian).
9. Vlassov V. From Copenhagen to Russia. BMJ Rapid Response 7 June 2013 http://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.f3602/rr/648952
10. Jargin SV. Overpopulation and modern ethics. S Afr Med J. 2009;99(8):572-3. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?pid=S0256-95742009000800011&script=s...
11. Jargin S. Demography and architecture in Ethiopia and elsewhere. Domus News 5 June 2010 http://www.domusweb.it/en/news/2010/06/05/demography-and-architecture-in...
12. Jargin SV. What can be done against scientific misconduct in the former Soviet Union. European Journal of Public Health, e-letter April 12, 2013 http://eurpub.oxfordjournals.org/letters/
Competing interests: No competing interests