ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that environmental considerations are relevant to the abortion debate and, conversely, that the abortion dispute ought to enter into a discussion of “feminism and the environment.” It discusses from a perspective of concern for life in a broadly inclusive sense referring to the diversity of lifeforms on the planet, and when the ecological dimension of reproductive choice is considered, the term “prolife” might most properly undergo a dramatic change in usage. While the total population increased by 82 million, an estimated 54 million abortions were performed, around 26 million in the industrialized nations and about 28 million in the poorer countries. As a backup to contraception, abortion plays an important role in limiting the ecologically damaging effects of the human population in all parts of the globe. Human beings are far from the only victims of the interaction between population growth and environmental degradation, however, and poor people are not the only actors in the ecological tragedy.
