Abortion and Population

[Rev. Rye]

And, hell, when I gave my three-child cutoff, it wasn't even part of any policy recommendation. It was just an arbitrary cutoff for what might constitute a "smaller family." At least as opposed to the larger families that would have been more common in the Pre-Industrial Era. In, say, the 18th Century, mothers usually had something like 5-8 children, maybe more. This was because of factors like high childhood mortality rates, and the need for a larger supply of cheap farm labour, two factors that are moot for most people these days.


And, no, I do not think enforcing a hard limit on how many kids people should have is a good idea. Even casting the morality of the idea aside, it doesn't work out as well as one thinks. Educational campaigns encouraging families to plan for smaller families would be a better idea, and, frankly, even that's not even needed these days. Especially when you consider the cost in raising children and juxtapose that with how financially strapped many people of childbearing age are these days.