To the editor:

This is in response to the July 26 Roush letter. I completely disagree with her “be fruitful and multiply” mentality. She and the pope are out of contact with reality. Her criticism of birth control is illogical. China has a population of 1.3 billion and had to limit the number of children due to necessity and inability to feed the population.

Allow me to give some statistics. World population is now 6.6 billion and will be 9 billion by 2042. Sixteen thousand children die of starvation or related causes every day. Population is growing faster than the food supply. In the U.S., in 2006, 3.5 million lived in households considered food-insecure. How many more people does she want in this world? Is it humane to see hungry children?

I also disagree on her statements about how men don’t respect women using contraceptives and use them as instruments of selfish enjoyment. Women desire sexual enjoyment as much as men. A good sexual appetite is healthy for any relationship. She seems to think sex should only be used for reproduction. Also her natural method of avoiding pregnancy is just a glorified rhythm method and far from a satisfactory method of birth control!

Population control is essential if this world is going to be able to support itself in the future. People need to start thinking more realistically about how many humans this earth can support and how it everyone’s responsibility to make the best choice.

Craig Tucker and Judy Northway,

Lawrence