Carol, I have been worried about the population explosion since I was a kid---and in my lifetime it has DEFINITELY exploded! But here's how I reconcile those concerns with my passion for breastfeeding: I look at the issue of whether a woman should bear a baby separately from the issue of whether she should have support for breastfeeding. The social and cultural and religious and economic influences on whether to bring children into the world are indeed complex, and as a breastfeeding advocate I prefer to stay out of that fray. But once the child is here, there's no question in my mind. It deserves the best we humans can give it, and that includes breastfeeding from a mother who gets whatever support and care SHE needs in order to breastfeed. I am a little leery of asserting too loudly that the baby actually has a right to breastfeed, because that sets up a situation of potentially conflicting rights---the baby's right versus the mother's right. I feel on firmer ground talking about the woman's right to breastfeed, to make an informed and supported choice. The conditions that enable women to breastfeed provide many things that women need anyway, whether or not they are mothers, like equal pay for work of equal value, adequate nutrition for themselves, family and community support in their lives, etc. Chris Mulford Swarthmore PA USA *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html