New York Times Gets It Wrong - Moscow Demographic Summit is About Declining Birthrates

ROCKFORD, Ill., June 10, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An article in today's New York Times ("Russians Adopt U.S. Tactics in Opposing Abortion") mischaracterizes the upcoming Moscow Demographic Summit: The Family and The Future of Humankind – June 29-30 at the Russian State Social University – as "an international anti-abortion meeting."

World Congress of Families Managing Director Larry Jacobs, who was mentioned in The Times' story twice, set the record straight: "While it's true that World Congress of Families is uncompromisingly pro-life, as part of our natural family agenda, the Moscow Demographic Summit is first and foremost about the dramatic worldwide decline of birthrates, and only secondarily about abortion. Our goals are to analyze the phenomenon, examine how we reached this crisis and suggest solutions to what could be the greatest challenge confronting humanity in this century."

Jacobs continued, "While abortion has played an undeniable role in this tragedy, it's far from the only factor. Late marriage, cohabitation and the culturally induced desire for small families are among the many factors which have led to a 50% decline in birthrates worldwide since the late 1960s.  While pro-life spokesmen (Russian and international) will play a prominent role in the Summit, so too will demographers, economists, sociologists, authors, researchers and political and religious leaders, whose primary concern lies in other areas."

In discussing growing Russian opposition to abortion on demand, The New York Times also failed to note the grim reality the nation faces: Its birthrate is barely 1.2 (children per woman) with a birthrate of 2.1 needed just to replace current population. It's been estimated that in Russia today there are 4 million abortions annually and only 1.7 million live births. "This is national suicide by 'choice,'" Jacobs comments.

For more information about the Moscow Demographic Summit, including a partial list of speakers, go to www.worldcongress.ru or go to our May 27 press release ("Moscow Demographic Summit One Month Away").

The Summit has been endorsed by Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church. In a message to delegates, Patriarch Kirill noted that the purpose of the Summit is "to defend traditional family values and to analyze the world's demographic problems."

Click here: (http://www.worldcongress.org/Special/wcf.kirill.summit.doc) for the full text of Patriarch Kirill's letter to Summit participants.

With 31 Partners internationally, WCF has held five World Congresses from 1997 to 2009 – in Prague, Geneva, Mexico City, Warsaw and Amsterdam. World Congress of Families VI is planned for Madrid in 2012 and WCF VII for Sydney in 2013. Besides the Moscow Demographic Summit, the Congress is co-sponsoring regional events in Riga, Sydney, Vancouver, London and Lagos this year.

For the website of the Moscow Demographic Summit (in English and Russian) – including registration information – go to www.worldcongress.ru.

For More Information on World Congress of Families, go to www.worldcongress.org.  To schedule an interview with Larry Jacobs or International Secretary Dr. Allan Carlson, contact Don Feder at 508-405-1337, [email protected] or Lisa Youngblood at 815-964-5819, [email protected].

The World Congress of Families (WCF) is an international network of pro-family organizations, scholars, leaders and people of goodwill from more than 60 countries that seek to restore the natural family as the fundamental social unit and the 'seedbed' of civil society (as found in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948).  The WCF was founded in 1997 by Allan Carlson and is a project of The Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society in Rockford, Illinois.  To date, there have been five World Congresses of Families – Prague (1997), Geneva (1999), Mexico City (2004), Warsaw, Poland (2007) and Amsterdam, The Netherlands (2009).  World Congress of Families VI will be held in Madrid, Spain in May 25-27, 2012.

SOURCE World Congress of Families