In an open letter sent today, Having Kids is urging the American Academy of Pediatrics to consider a new policy statement on family planning.
A recently publicized study in the journal Pediatrics shows that children bear 88 percent of the burden of diseases linked to climate change, which could reverse the progress made over the past 25 years in reducing child mortality. That study follows the prescient policy statement on the need for effective global policy changes to mitigate the impact of climate change.
Having Kids is asking the Academy to adopt and advocate for a new family planning model. Pediatricians can, and should, help lead the most important change to protect our future.
- The most effective way to address many of the impacts on our environment and other species, like climate change, is by choosing smaller families. Yes, it’s more effective than changing diet or forms of transportation.
- By 2100 world population could vary by billions of people, depending on whether the average woman in the world today has one child more or one child fewer in her lifetime.
- Our current family planning systems provide no minimum standard of wellbeing for future children, allowing children to be born into failing state systems because their parents cannot care for them. That exacerbates inequality, and ensures rich kids stay rich and poor kids stay poor.
- Child-first family planning provides a clear human rights-based solution and path forward. It’s sustainable and equitable, and reflected in the worldwide trend towards smaller families that can invest more in each child and ensure a safer future.
“We stand ready to assist with the development of the Academy’s new policy on family planning,” said Anne Green, Executive Director of Having Kids.
Take action: Tweet Dr. Kraft, head of the AAP, at @AAPPres, and politely ask her to consider our request.
