AMERICANS SEE SIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS IN POPULATION GROWTH

Do average Americans care about population growth? Do they support family planning services? They do indeed. An overwhelming majority of Americans perceive the world's population as growing and believes that world population growth is a significant problem.

Closer to home, 82% of Californians believe that the projected population growth in their state during the next 20 years will adversely effect their communities. They listed traffic congestion, high housing costs, loss of open space and pollution as the most negative consequences of growth.

So say several recent polls. The polls were conducted by the University of Maryland, the Public Policy Institute of California, and the Pew Research Center. The following report is a brief analysis of their findings.

CONNECTING POPULATION GROWTH WITH OTHER CONCERNS

Although a large majority of Americans see population growth as a weighty problem, this majority is divided as to how pressing the problem is in terms of security and environmental concerns.

FOREIGN AID FOR FAMILY PLANNING
An overwhelming majority believes that population growth is a serious contributor to the economic problems of the developing world. A very strong majority supports the U.S. providing aid to assist people in poor countries with family planning. Support is more mixed, however, when the goal is framed in terms of getting developing countries to reduce their birthrates.

FAMILY PLANNING ASSISTANCE THROUGH THE UNITED NATIONS
A strong majority supports the U.S. and other countries providing assistance for family planning through the United Nations.

FAMILY PLANNING AND ABORTION
Only a small minority thinks that providing family planning services leads to an increase in abortions. For most, the terms “family planning” and “birth control” do not imply abortion. The public is divided about whether the U.S. should fund abortions as part of family planning or should fund international family planning organizations that use non-U.S. money to fund abortions.

FAMILY PLANNING AID AND UNITED NATIONS DUES
The public is divided about funding international family planning organizations that discuss abortion with their clients; however, a strong majority opposes attaching restrictions to UN dues.