A Pivotal Moment puts forth the concept of “population justice.” Inspired by the environmental justice and reproductive justice movements, population justice calls for a nuanced understanding of the relationship between human numbers and the environment. Most importantly, it urges attention to the inequalities–both gender and economic–that underlie rapid population growth.
To slow population growth and build a sustainable future, women and men need access to voluntary family planning and other reproductive health services, as well as education and employment opportunities. Where family planning is available, where couples are confident their children will survive, where girls go to school, where young men and women have economic opportunity—couples will have healthier and smaller families.