It doesn’t seem that many voices in society are encouraging families to “have more babies,” but Spain is standing out as one of those voices. According to the Catholic News Agency, a campaign featuring a series of billboards and signs has been released in the Madrid community with the general message, “Save the planet: have more children.”
The Large Families Association of Madrid (LFAM) is behind the campaign, which features eye-catching signs on subways and even bus stop waiting areas displaying three phrases that represent common reasons why people aren’t having more or any children: “Kids? I have a dog,” or, “One is enough,” and, “Two, but not one more!” The sign then asks, “Why not?” followed by the opposite of the mainstream environmentalist message: “Save the planet: have more children.”
The campaign utilizes a QR code that encourages viewers to watch a creatively produce video from Large Families Association of Madrid explaining reasons why families should have more children. It also addresses the viral spread of neo-Malthusian philosophies that have led to the idea that population control is necessary to prevent a total collapse of society. This ideology has led to a decrease in financial aid to large families and the promotion of abortion all over the world, particularly in impoverished, developing nations. LFAM also point out that the widespread use of euphemisms like “reproductive health care” have changed the public’s mindsets surrounding childbearing.
The BBC published an article in 2020 confirming this shift, at least in European countries. According to a study done by the Lancet, childbearing rates per woman have halved since 1950. About 4.7 children were being born per mother at that time, but the rates dropped to a mere 2.4 children per mother by 2017. Spain is predicted to have its population halved by the year 2100, as are other countries such as China, Japan, Italy, Thailand, Portugal, and South Korea.
The Large Families Association aptly points out that saving a planet while ending human lives is not a solution: “[Population control advocates] say that they have calculated how much each child pollutes… and they have forgotten that a world without pollution is not worth it if there are no people to enjoy it.”
