7 billion and counting

[thir]

Sorry, Denuseri, but there is no correlation between legalization of abortion and the growth of a population. None at all. Italy, which doesn't really embrace abortion, due to its mostly catholic population (although abortion is legal during the first 90 days), has the lowest birth rate all over Europe and the second lowest in the western world (1.23 births/woman).
France, almost equally as much catholic as Italy (and where abortion is legal during the first 12 weeks) has a birth rate of 1.8.

Also, the abortion rate in Switzerland dropped from 12 per thousand in the seventies, when it was only obtainable under very restricted medical indications, to around 6.4 per thousand in 2009, seven years after its legalisation.

So, no, abortion has nothing to do whatsoever with population growth. If it had, the German Democratic Republic hadn't crashed because of its incapability, but because it would have simply ceased to exist.
Likewise, if that were the case, the Irish would be falling off their island coz there's not enough room for all of them.

Maybe is it anti-conceptives that make the difference? I know the catholic countries are not supposed to have or use it, but obviously they do. Or else they have written of sex!

I must agree with Denuseri in her other comments, absolutely!

[lucy]

Maybe is it anti-conceptives that make the difference? I know the catholic countries are not supposed to have or use it, but obviously they do. Or else they have written of sex!

No. It's development and education that goes with it. It's the only factor that really has an impact on birth rates. Except, of course, a harsh 1-child-policy as they did in China (do they still?). Which, btw, leads to an ever growing surplus of males (as in India, too). Which, in turn, will become a major problem very soon, if it isn't already. Especially, surprisingly enough, for women.

I must agree with Denuseri in her other comments, absolutely!

Yep, me too. Although I'm pretty sure that as soon as a barrel of oil costs $500 there'll be plenty of ideas where to get our energy from. Just as there won't be any problem with cheap de-salination as soon as enough (rich) people don't have enough drinking water anymore.

If there's one outstanding ability we humans possess, then it's the ability to adapt.