{"id":3142,"date":"2021-11-30T10:15:29","date_gmt":"2021-11-30T10:15:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/"},"modified":"2025-09-18T18:27:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T17:27:15","slug":"welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to Gilead: how population fears drive women&#8217;s rights abuses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover alignfull curved-bottom\"><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-background-dim-0 has-background-dim\" style=\"background-color:#d55653\"><\/span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Gilead-logo-banner_0-scaled.jpg\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-post-image\" alt=\"Gilead Watch logo banner\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" srcset=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Gilead-logo-banner_0-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Gilead-logo-banner_0-300x94.jpg 300w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Gilead-logo-banner_0-1024x320.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Gilead-logo-banner_0-768x240.jpg 768w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Gilead-logo-banner_0-1536x480.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Gilead-logo-banner_0-2048x640.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-cover-is-layout-flow\"><h1 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-post-title\">Welcome to Gilead: how population fears drive women&#8217;s rights abuses<\/h1><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-date\"><time datetime=\"2021-11-30T10:15:29+00:00\">30 November 2021<\/time><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"lead\"><a href=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/Welcome-to-Gilead-report\">Welcome to Gilead<\/a>, Population Matters\u2019 latest report, expands on the connections between extreme pronatalism and reproductive rights restrictions through eight case studies: Iran, China, Turkey, Russia, Hungary, Poland, Germany, and the US. The report\u2019s author, PM Researcher and Policy Adviser Monica Scigliano, explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/40142354373_f86cabc64b_k.jpg\" alt=\"40142354373_f86cabc64b_k\" class=\"wp-image-378\" srcset=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/40142354373_f86cabc64b_k.jpg 768w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/40142354373_f86cabc64b_k-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Coercive pronatalism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As those of us who fight for women\u2019s rights know, concerns with population growth have been abused to justify appalling reproductive rights violations like forced sterilisations, particularly in vulnerable communities. Now, as the populations of many countries are declining, a political disregard for bodily autonomy is again rearing its ugly head, though this time with the aim of forcing women to have <em>more<\/em>, not <em>fewer<\/em>, children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pronatalism \u2013 the promotion of childbearing \u2013 is not, in and of itself, coercive. However, rights-affirming versions of pronatalism, like providing more statutory parental leave, rarely result in higher birth rates, and some politicians have turned to a more extreme, politically convenient, and less expensive strategy: restricting reproductive rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A toxic mix of nationalism, xenophobia and racism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A variety of concerns motivate the pronatal leaders and political influencers of these countries. Many have explicitly nationalist agendas. Hungary\u2019s Prime Minister Orb\u00e1n and Germany\u2019s AfD party, for example, promote the racist and xenophobic Great Replacement Theory, claiming that \u201cindigenous\u201d women must have more children to save European civilisation from extinction. Former US Congressman Steve King justified <a href=\"https:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/%20politics\/2011\/08\/steve-king-wants-enlist-your-uterus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">his opposition to free contraceptives<\/a> on the grounds that \u201cPreventing babies from being born is not medicine. That\u2019s not constructive to our culture and our civilization. If we let our birth rate get down below the replacement rate we are a dying civilization\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In some cases, governments separately encourage population growth among the majority group while discouraging it among minorities, whom they see as a threat. China, for instance, focuses its increasingly coercive pronatalism on educated, middle class Han people, while subjecting minorities like Uyghurs to forced long-term contraception and abortions. And Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n is explicit in his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2020\/mar\/04\/baby-bonuses-fit-the-nationalist-agenda-but-do-they-work\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">selective desire for population growth<\/a>: \u201cInstead of just numbers, we want Hungarian children. Migration for us is surrender\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some, like Iran\u2019s Ayatollah Khamenei and Russia\u2019s Putin, see low fertility rates (particularly among the religious or ethnic majority group) as a national security threat. Iran, for instance, recently tasked its Ministry of Intelligence with monitoring abortion after parliamentarian <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/world\/la-fg-iran-demographer-arrests-20190107-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nasrollah Pejmanfar<\/a> claimed that \u201cThe enemy has been implementing a consistent plan to reduce the birthrate\u201d. The Russian government, meanwhile, is considering labeling the childfree movement an \u201cextremist ideology\u201d, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/usrussia-putin-taxation-idUSKBN1ZE21Y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">President Putin has stated<\/a> that \u201cRussia\u2019s fate and its historic prospects\u2026 depends on how many children are born in Russian families\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AfD-poster-new_0.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4562\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Economic growth at all cost<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Other leaders are worried about the economic costs of supporting an ageing population. A number of conservative American lawmakers, for example, aim to make abortion illegal and contraception more costly while also warning of the \u2018disastrous\u2019 economic effects of low birth rates. They frame their views in positive terms like \u2018pro-life\u2019 and \u2018pro-family\u2019, but their voting records on policies like universal childcare tell another story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>China\u2019s leadership is particularly concerned about the effects of demographic change on its labour force.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/newsletters\/politico-china-watcher\/2021\/04\/29\/feminists-in-china-thwarting-governments-population-planning-objectives-492643\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> According to Leta Hong Fincher<\/a>, \u201cThe Chinese government aggressively perpetuates traditional gender norms and reduces women to their roles as dutiful wives, mothers and baby breeders in the home, to minimize social unrest and give birth to future generations of skilled workers\u2026 policymakers continue to view women primarily as reproductive tools to realize the nation\u2019s development goals\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Turkey, a blend of economic concerns and nationalism fuel President Erdo\u011fan\u2019s intense pronatalism. He <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhrjournal.org\/2019\/12\/neoliberal-health-restructuring-neoconservatism-and-the-limits-of-law-erosion-of-reproductive-rights-in-turkey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">has called abortions<\/a> \u201csecret plots designed to stall Turkey\u2019s economic growth and a conspiracy to wipe the Turkish nation from the world stage&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Not-your-incubator_crop_0.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4563\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"755\" src=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/I-object_crop.jpg\" alt=\"I-object_crop\" class=\"wp-image-321\" srcset=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/I-object_crop.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/I-object_crop-300x221.jpg 300w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/I-object_crop-768x566.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Violated rights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In each of the countries explored in this report, reproductive rights are under attack by the same politicians who aim to increase birth rates. Iran has recently outlawed free contraceptives and elective sterilisation. In China, childfree men are often unable to obtain vasectomies. The AKP, Turkey\u2019s ruling party, has made contraception difficult to access in much of the country. In Russia, women have to go through a longer waiting period and biased counseling, sometimes with a priest, before they are granted an abortion. Hungary has made medical abortion illegal and requires a prescription for emergency contraception. Perhaps the most egregious offender is Poland, which among a host of other regressive measures has enacted a near-total ban on abortion. Antonina Lewandowska of the Federation for Women and Family Planning, Poland, says,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;The Polish pronatalist movement drove doctors into such a state of fear that they would rather let the patient go into septic shock than terminate the pregnancy earlier and save her life. They are terrified of prosecution and stigma, as the pro-natalist\/anti-choice movements would&nbsp;probably eat them alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the other hand, there is a group of medical professionals that are rather comfortable with the current situation, as it lets them argue that medical negligence happens due to that &#8220;freezing effect&#8221; of an abhorrent law rather then their own incompetence, mistake or deliberate choice to not provide their patients with necessary medical care \u2013 an abortion \u2013 due to their personal beliefs. But in both cases, it is clear \u2013 aggressive, fundamentalist pronatalism paved the way for violating human rights in Poland.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Germany and the US \u2013 the most democratic countries featured in the report \u2013 aren\u2019t spared, either. A Nazi-era law in Germany prevents healthcare providers from publicising information on abortions, and the battle for the right to abortion rages in a number of American states \u2013 with the Supreme Court preparing to hear oral arguments on Mississippi\u2019s law this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In some cases, these new restrictions have led to slightly higher rates of unwanted births. The much more pervasive effect, however, is greater human suffering as girls and women resort to unsafe illegal abortions or face greater maternal mortality risks from unintended pregnancies. From a population perspective, extreme pronatalism is not actually particularly relevant. The reason it matters is because peoples\u2019 health, freedom, and lives are at stake \u2013 and a fixation on the anti-natalist coercion of the past may prevent us from effectively countering the reproductive rights violations of today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Download the report<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Learn more about how pronatal policies are threatening reproductive rights across the world in our fully referenced report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1241\" height=\"1754\" src=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/welcome-to-gilead-cover.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4564\" srcset=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/welcome-to-gilead-cover.jpg 1241w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/welcome-to-gilead-cover-212x300.jpg 212w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/welcome-to-gilead-cover-725x1024.jpg 725w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/welcome-to-gilead-cover-768x1085.jpg 768w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/welcome-to-gilead-cover-1087x1536.jpg 1087w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1241px) 100vw, 1241px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/Welcome-to-Gilead-report\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-popmat-share\"><a class=\"fb-share\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fpopulationmatters.org%2Fnews%2F2021%2F11%2Fwelcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><div>\n  \nShare<\/div><\/a><a class=\"tw-share\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpopulationmatters.org%2Fnews%2F2021%2F11%2Fwelcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses%2F&amp;text=Welcome+to+Gilead%3A+how+population+fears+drive+women%27s+rights+abuses\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><div>\n  \nTweet<\/div><\/a><a class=\"li-share\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpopulationmatters.org%2Fnews%2F2021%2F11%2Fwelcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses%2F&amp;text=Welcome+to+Gilead%3A+how+population+fears+drive+women%27s+rights+abuses\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><div>\n  \nPost<\/div><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-light-blue-background-color has-background is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Related content<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-popmat-grid grid grid-3\">\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome to Gilead, Population Matters\u2019 latest report, expands on the connections between extreme pronatalism and reproductive rights restrictions through eight case studies: Iran, China, Turkey, Russia, Hungary, Poland, Germany, and&#8230;","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":2410,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[13,15,16,17,20,45,22],"class_list":["post-3142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-population-matters-news","tag-economics","tag-europe_population","tag-families","tag-family_planning","tag-us_population","tag-womens-rights","tag-world_population"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Welcome to Gilead: how population fears drive women&#039;s rights abuses - Population Matters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Welcome to Gilead: how population fears drive women&#039;s rights abuses - Population Matters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Welcome to Gilead, Population Matters\u2019 latest report, expands on the connections between extreme pronatalism and reproductive rights restrictions through eight case studies: Iran, China, Turkey, Russia, Hungary, Poland, Germany, and...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Population Matters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PopulationMatters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-11-30T10:15:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-18T17:27:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Gilead-logo-banner_0-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alistair Currie\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@PopnMatters\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@PopnMatters\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alistair Currie\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Alistair Currie\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/#\/schema\/person\/9aab1f48e7f8e28a9f2a0aaa31dd6f98\"},\"headline\":\"Welcome to Gilead: how population fears drive women&#8217;s rights abuses\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-30T10:15:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-18T17:27:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/\"},\"wordCount\":1078,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Gilead-logo-banner_0-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Economics\",\"Europe Population\",\"Families\",\"Family planning\",\"US population\",\"Women&#039;s rights\",\"World population\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Population matters news\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/\",\"name\":\"Welcome to Gilead: how population fears drive women's rights abuses - Population Matters\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Gilead-logo-banner_0-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-30T10:15:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-18T17:27:15+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Gilead-logo-banner_0-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Gilead-logo-banner_0-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"Gilead Watch logo banner\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Welcome to Gilead: how population fears drive women&#8217;s rights abuses\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/\",\"name\":\"Population Matters\",\"description\":\"Population Matters is a UK-based charity which campaigns to achieve a sustainable human population, to protect the natural world and improve people\u2019s lives.&quot;\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Population Matters\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/PM-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/PM-logo.png\",\"width\":918,\"height\":646,\"caption\":\"Population Matters\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PopulationMatters\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/PopnMatters\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/PopnMatters\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/PopulationMatters\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/#\/schema\/person\/9aab1f48e7f8e28a9f2a0aaa31dd6f98\",\"name\":\"Alistair Currie\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/093c5c2b37ca16b9e20c75e08cfaa50ca32615240b7c2cc6d32a6f6edc11f155?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/093c5c2b37ca16b9e20c75e08cfaa50ca32615240b7c2cc6d32a6f6edc11f155?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/093c5c2b37ca16b9e20c75e08cfaa50ca32615240b7c2cc6d32a6f6edc11f155?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Alistair Currie\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Welcome to Gilead: how population fears drive women's rights abuses - Population Matters","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Welcome to Gilead: how population fears drive women's rights abuses - Population Matters","og_description":"Welcome to Gilead, Population Matters\u2019 latest report, expands on the connections between extreme pronatalism and reproductive rights restrictions through eight case studies: Iran, China, Turkey, Russia, Hungary, Poland, Germany, and...","og_url":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/","og_site_name":"Population Matters","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PopulationMatters","article_published_time":"2021-11-30T10:15:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-18T17:27:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Gilead-logo-banner_0-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Alistair Currie","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@PopnMatters","twitter_site":"@PopnMatters","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Alistair Currie","Estimated reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/"},"author":{"name":"Alistair Currie","@id":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/#\/schema\/person\/9aab1f48e7f8e28a9f2a0aaa31dd6f98"},"headline":"Welcome to Gilead: how population fears drive women&#8217;s rights abuses","datePublished":"2021-11-30T10:15:29+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-18T17:27:15+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/"},"wordCount":1078,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Gilead-logo-banner_0-scaled.jpg","keywords":["Economics","Europe Population","Families","Family planning","US population","Women&#039;s rights","World population"],"articleSection":["Population matters news"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/","url":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/","name":"Welcome to Gilead: how population fears drive women's rights abuses - Population Matters","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Gilead-logo-banner_0-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2021-11-30T10:15:29+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-18T17:27:15+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Gilead-logo-banner_0-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Gilead-logo-banner_0-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":800,"caption":"Gilead Watch logo banner"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2021\/11\/welcome-to-gilead-how-population-fears-drive-womens-rights-abuses\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Welcome to Gilead: how population fears drive women&#8217;s rights abuses"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/","name":"Population Matters","description":"Population Matters is a UK-based charity which campaigns to achieve a sustainable human population, to protect the natural world and improve people\u2019s lives.&quot;","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/#organization","name":"Population Matters","url":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/PM-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/PM-logo.png","width":918,"height":646,"caption":"Population Matters"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PopulationMatters","https:\/\/x.com\/PopnMatters","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/PopnMatters\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/PopulationMatters"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/#\/schema\/person\/9aab1f48e7f8e28a9f2a0aaa31dd6f98","name":"Alistair Currie","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/093c5c2b37ca16b9e20c75e08cfaa50ca32615240b7c2cc6d32a6f6edc11f155?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/093c5c2b37ca16b9e20c75e08cfaa50ca32615240b7c2cc6d32a6f6edc11f155?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/093c5c2b37ca16b9e20c75e08cfaa50ca32615240b7c2cc6d32a6f6edc11f155?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Alistair Currie"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3142"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16885,"href":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3142\/revisions\/16885"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}