Two research practices have held back the development of an adequate factual base for population ethics.

One practice begins with conclusions & then selects only those facts consistent with them. Analysts claiming that rapid population growth has had negative consequences for economic development often cite facts supporting that conclusion & leave out contrary evidence. Those claiming benefits from rapid population growth do the same.

The second practice involves assigning more or less weight to population conditions than objective research would support. Some advocates of fertility control claim that rapid population growth has caused starvation & political instability in the developing countries. Such simple interpretations overlook the many other influences leading to those conditions, such as the lack of food in poor countries, corruption among political leaders, & ethnic conflicts.

Both methods cannot provide solid explanations for major problems in for population ethics.

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Typical topics in population ethics include reproductive rights, fertility control, family planning, population policies, population growth, abortion, human migration, refugees, etc.

Moral principles come from religious & cultural traditions, philosophy, declarations of human rights, & other sources. Factual information derives from careful analysis of what is happening or has happened in a given place or situation.

Population ethics has two main foundations: moral principles & factual information. Population ethics involves the ethical study of population policies & issues & application of moral principles to what are often complex situations.

Its greatest challenges are to select principles that are broadly applicable to population issues, & to explore their implications with an adequate factual understanding of the circumstances involved.

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The strategies countries use to control fertility have provoked the sharpest debates about population ethics. China & India have used outright coercion to promote sterilization or abortion. In China, women found to be pregnant with unauthorized children have been forced to undergo abortions. Between 1975 & 1977, police in some parts of India rounded up eligible men & required them to be sterilized.

Indonesia's use of strong community pressures to increase use of contraceptives has also been controversial. To gain new users the Indonesian government has relied on such methods as repeated visits to eligible women from village heads, family-planning workers, & members of Acceptors Clubs; pressure to accept intrauterine devices during "safaris" attended by prominent public officials; & promoting a positive image of small families.

Those defending coercion & heavy social pressures argue that countries such as China, India, & Indonesia require vigorous methods of fertility control to curb swelling populations. Voluntary methods, they say, will work too slowly to prevent damage to the economy & create impossible demands for a nation's schools and other public services.

Critics respond that applying force & heavy pressure violates human rights & disregards international agreements on fertility control, such as the 1974 World Population Plan of Action (United Nations).

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