Dorothy Stein confronts the contentious political issues on all sides of the population debate, including immigration, demographic competition, gender ratios, reproductive research and children's rights. She argues that lower fertility rates are preferred by women themselves; are beneficial in their own right to both women and children; and should not be used as a bargaining chip in any other area of the development debate. This is a challenging contribution to the debate. It presents a persuasive case for policies which recognise hopeful trends in relieving the environmental and social pressures of an increasing global population, and portends a better future for those who, to date, have counted for little amongst those who do the counting