“Forty years ago, Pope Paul VI issued Humanae Vitae, the encyclical arguing that contraception is against God’s will. In celebration of its 40th anniversary, Hoover Institution research fellow Mary Eberstadt has written a passionate and subtly misleading essay in the religious and public policy journal First Things arguing that Humanae Vitae’s specific predictions of social harm arising from widespread use of contraception have been vindicated. ‘The encyclical warned of four resulting trends,’ writes Eberstadt, ‘a general lowering of moral standards throughout society; a rise in infidelity; a lessening of respect for women by men; and the coercive use of reproductive technologies by governments.’ But before Eberstadt launches into her polemic about the alleged prescience of Humanae Vitae, she detours to a discussion about the myth of overpopulation.” (08/26/08)