American Healthcare Needs Protection
Why I sent the Senate hundreds of condoms
I’m probably not the only person who is thinking, “oh, screw the Senate,” right now. But I might be the only one who acted on those feelings by sending all the senators condoms this week.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Today is World Population Day, a day designated by the United Nations in 1989 to raise awareness about global population issues. With more than 7.5 billion people on the planet and a billion more predicted to be added in the next decade or so, we have some global population issues we still need to address nearly 30 years later. But it isn’t just a problem for other countries — the U.S. is the third-most populous country in the world. With 45 percent of all pregnancies unplanned, we also boast the highest rate of unintended pregnancies of any developed nation.
That’s the point of World Population Day though, to draw attention to rampant human population growth and the consequences of that growth. Lots of economists will point to a graph and tell you that growth is categorically a good thing; more people means more consumers means more money. But does it? In the last 200 years human population has grown from 1 billion people to over 7 billion. Admittedly, the world economy is very different than it was in 1800. But as the Notorious B.I.G. says, “mo’ money, mo’ problems.”
Actually, it’s more like more money, more of the same problems: Poverty hasn’t been erased, and we don’t live in a just, Utopian economy either. In some ways we’re actually worse off because more people (and wealthier wealthy people) gobble up more and more resources. And we aren’t the only ones who need those resources.
There are way more living things on Earth than humans. We share this blue-green planet with some 8.7 million other discovered species from the water bear to the koala bear, not to mention the 8 species of bears that are actually bears. And, it unfortunately has to be mentioned, the majority of those bears are species on the brink of extinction.
The land and water we divvy up and dam isn’t just a resource, but home to other species; the air and oceans we pollute are pathways and bridges to feeding and breeding grounds; the wildlife we exterminate to protect hamburger profits and clear to protect the crisp grass of the back nine have just as much right to live here as we do.
As our population grows and our consumption ramps up alongside, we’re driving some of the most pressing environmental problems of our time — including the extinction crisis. The more of us, the bigger the problem.
But back to the U.S. Senate. This week senators are deciding on the healthcare bill that will replace the Affordable Care Act. And their bill, to put it bluntly, sucks. With a simple majority, the Senate has the potential to hurt millions of people, especially woman. Medicaid and Planned Parenthood are facing major cuts in the proposed healthcare bill. These programs are vital for ensuring that everyone, but especially low income people and women of color, have access to the reproductive care and the contraception they want and need. And this is all following Trump’s executive order vastly expanding what employers can opt out of providing contraception under their employer-funded health insurance programs based on their belief system.
So that’s why I sent condoms to Capitol Hill — 600 Endangered Species Condoms to be exact. World Population Day is a great opportunity to draw attention to the connections between decisions in Congress, human health, reproductive rights and, even, wildlife extinction. It’s critical that we stop putting issues in boxes and keeping them separate. Everything is connected and, in this case, what is good for women and the American public is good for wildlife. And the Endangered Species Condoms I sent are a very eye-catching way to get people to think about that connection. Once we, the American public, do that and once our elected representatives follow suit, we can start making changes that will have a positive impact across movements and issue areas.
The steps we need to take to slow human population growth and prevent the negative impact it has on the environment are based in human rights, universal access to contraception and education for women and girls. What the repeal and replace bill will do to those solutions is devastating: We risk losing access to essential reproductive health tools — not only safe and legal abortions, but also cancer screenings, STD checks and contraception. If we don’t protect these things, people and the planet will suffer.
Simply ensuring that every couple has the resources and information to plan their reproductive futures could go a long way in preventing unintended pregnancies, improve the lives of children and parents and protect the environment. But I’m talking about expanding reproductive rights not only because they are intrinsically linked to the survival of all species, including our own, but because they are a fundamental human right.
Leigh Moyer is the population organizer for the Center for Biological Diversity.
