ong unmarried teenage girlsrose throughout the 1970s and 1980s. A majorfocus of current concern, therefore, is theimprovement of SEX EDUCATION foradolescents. Other countries where the birthcontrol movement has been notably successfulinclude Sweden, the Netherlands, and Britain,where family planning associations early receivedgovernment support; Japan, which has markedlyreduced its birthrate since enacting facilitatinglegislation in 1952; and the Communist countries,which after some fluctuations in policy, nowprovide extensive contraceptive and abortionservices to their inhabitants. Many of the lessdeveloped countries are now promoting birthcontrol programs, supported by technical,educational, and financial assistance from variousUnited Nations agencies and the InternationalPlanned Parenthood Federation. A series ofWorld Population Conferences has sought tostrengthen the focus on population control as amajor international issue. At present the strongestopposition to birth control in the Western worldcomes from the Roman Catholic church, whichcontinues to ban the use of all methods exceptperiodic abstinence. In Third World countriesresistance to birth control programs has arisenfrom both religious and political motives. In India,for example, a country whose population isincreasing at a net rate of 10-13 million a year, thetraditional Hindu emphasis on fertility has impededthe success of the birth control movement. SomeThird World countries continue to encouragepopulation growth for internal economic reasons,and a few radical spokespersons have alleged thatthe international birth control movement isattempting to curtail the population growth ofThird World countries for racist reasons. A similarargument has been heard within the United Stateswith regard to ethnic minorities; the latter,however, voluntarily seek family planning in anequal proportion to nonminorities. Despite sucharguments, most educated individuals andgovernments acknowledg...
