I don’t think this post made the strong assumptions about population ethics you assume.
More unplanned pregnancies does not necessarily equal larger population. In fact, at the very beginning the post highlights that there are twice as many abortions as unplanned births and more unsafe abortions than unplanned births. Including the still births, that is a lot of preventable human suffering. Is it worth those unplanned births?
I also think it’s a bit ignorant to deny sub-Saharan Africa a technology we enjoy - would you also be against birth control use in the US?
Probably not, because the introduction of birth control and family planning did a lot of good—it allowed women to take a lot more control over their lives, some of it translated into the flood of women entering the workplace in the 60′s. Roe vs. Wade alone was correlated with a much reduced crime rate in the US. Without contraception, I would have never dared to pursue a PhD and dedicate my career to EA. Is a world where half the population can’t plan their futures a better world?
Additionally, more birth control does not equal fewer children. Israel has more access to birth control and legal abortion than many western countries, and it has a higher birth rate than the global average. Secular women in Israel alone have a higher birth rate than any other OECD country. Similarly, Eastern Europe has a lower birth rate than Western Europe despite having more strict control over abortion and birth control.
So the counterfactual does not mean fewer live births necessarily. And maybe it’s wiser to try and shape a culture to be more pro-natalist rather than rob people of their choices. With the longtermist framework in mind and the timeframes of childbearing and raising we have the time to do these things, rather than reach for interventions that maximize the single metric that is population size in the short term but could have negative implications on culture and suffering.
I think in order to be against an intervention that gives people more choice you need to make a very strong argument. I also think that you’re probably reaching this conclusion because you’re underestimating the burden of childbearing. There is a reason why so many women choose to have unsafe abortions rather than give birth.
I don’t think this post made the strong assumptions about population ethics you assume.
More unplanned pregnancies does not necessarily equal larger population. In fact, at the very beginning the post highlights that there are twice as many abortions as unplanned births and more unsafe abortions than unplanned births. Including the still births, that is a lot of preventable human suffering. Is it worth those unplanned births?
I also think it’s a bit ignorant to deny sub-Saharan Africa a technology we enjoy - would you also be against birth control use in the US?
Probably not, because the introduction of birth control and family planning did a lot of good—it allowed women to take a lot more control over their lives, some of it translated into the flood of women entering the workplace in the 60′s. Roe vs. Wade alone was correlated with a much reduced crime rate in the US. Without contraception, I would have never dared to pursue a PhD and dedicate my career to EA. Is a world where half the population can’t plan their futures a better world?
Additionally, more birth control does not equal fewer children. Israel has more access to birth control and legal abortion than many western countries, and it has a higher birth rate than the global average. Secular women in Israel alone have a higher birth rate than any other OECD country. Similarly, Eastern Europe has a lower birth rate than Western Europe despite having more strict control over abortion and birth control.
So the counterfactual does not mean fewer live births necessarily. And maybe it’s wiser to try and shape a culture to be more pro-natalist rather than rob people of their choices. With the longtermist framework in mind and the timeframes of childbearing and raising we have the time to do these things, rather than reach for interventions that maximize the single metric that is population size in the short term but could have negative implications on culture and suffering.
I think in order to be against an intervention that gives people more choice you need to make a very strong argument. I also think that you’re probably reaching this conclusion because you’re underestimating the burden of childbearing. There is a reason why so many women choose to have unsafe abortions rather than give birth.