Polish leader blames low birthrate on women using alcohol | AP News
Category: News & Politics
Via: perrie-halpern • 3 years ago • 43 commentsBy: VANESSA GERA (AP NEWS)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A women's rights group in Poland on Monday urged people to demonstrate after the country's ruling party leader claimed that Poland's low birthrate is partly caused by young women drinking too much alcohol.
Opposition politicians, activists and celebrities accused Jaroslaw Kaczynski, a 73-year-old bachelor, of being out of touch. They also argue that Kaczynski, the most powerful politician in Poland since 2015, is himself partly responsible for the the low birthrate in the central European nation of 38 million people.
In particular, critics point to increased restrictions on abortion that have discouraged some women from seeking to get pregnant. Others note the difficulty that young people have in raising families amid inflation that is reaching nearly 18%.
A women's rights group voiced fury at Kaczynski's comment and urged people to protest in front of Kaczynski's Warsaw home on Nov. 28, the 104th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote in Poland.
"The cretinous words of an old geezer about Polish women that women do not give birth to children because they drink (and not because Poland is hell), this is only a fragment of our reality," the Women's Strike wrote Monday on Facebook.
The group said there were many reasons for country's low birthrate, including Poland's de facto prohibition of abortion, a lack of access to sexual education and in vitro procedures, inflation, a housing shortage and a lack of access to day care centers.
Kaczynski, leader of the populist ruling party, Law and Justice, spoke Saturday about the demographic challenges of "far too few children" being born as he rallied support for his party ahead of next year's parliamentary election.
"And here it is sometimes necessary to say a little openly, some bitter things. If, for example, the situation remains such that, until the age of 25, girls, young women, drink the same amount as their peers, there will be no children," Kaczynski said.
He claimed, without any medical proof, that to develop alcoholism, the average man "has to drink excessively for 20 years" but "a woman only two."
"I am really a sincere supporter of women's equality, but I am not a supporter of women pretending to be men, and men pretending to be women," Kaczynski said.
The remark also triggered predictable jokes along the lines of alcohol being helpful to conception.
The traditionally Roman Catholic country already had one of Europe's most restrictive abortion laws, with abortions allowed in very few cases, before 2020. Then, a new ruling said that women may no long terminate pregnancies in cases where the fetus has serious abnormalities and is not viable after birth.
That sparked the largest protests in Poland in decades, which were led by Women's Strike. There have since been cases of pregnant women dying even though a risk to the woman's life remains a legal grounds for abortion under the current law. Women's rights advocates say such cases occur because doctors are afraid to terminate pregnancies even when the woman's life might be at risk, fearing legal consequences.
The number of births per woman in Poland has plummeted from 3 children per woman in 1960 to 1.2 in 2003, according to the World Bank.
It began rising again somewhat after 2003, and got a boost after Kaczynski's government introduced a monthly cash benefit of 500 zlotys ($108) per child after winning power in 2015, hoping to encourage larger families.
But the birthrate is again declining and Kaczynski admitted last month the program isn't working as intended. The birthrate stood at 1.32 children per woman in 2021, according to Polish state statistics.
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Jaroslaw Kaczynski, a 73-year-old bachelor
WTF?
Why is a low birth rate a "problem"?
I can tell you from experience that young ladies who use alcohol are much more sexually active than tee-totalers.
Even the Unabomber knows that.
A low birth rate reduced the population size unequally without the natural balance across age groups. Low fertility produces an age structure that creates a momentum for future population decline, populations can fall in size at an extremely rapid rate. The longer a low birth rate exists, the harder it becomes to reverse population decline.
Low birth rate counties will have increasing future problems sustaining social services like low cost or free medical care, social security, and safety net programs. As there are fewer workers, either they must be taxed more and/or benefits lower for all.
Todays babies are tomorrows workers. If that number is declining, economic expansion becomes more difficult. Workers either have to work longer or work more productively.
Japan is likely to experience this first. They are facing a triple whammy. They have a very low birth rate, very high national debt and very strict immigration policies.
OTOH, Poland is being flooded by Ukrainian refugees who need jobs.
The refugees are bringing children into Poland.
Do you agree with Kaczynski that the low birth rate is "caused by young women drinking too much alcohol"?
No, not at all, my now dated experience, was the same as yours.
I only wanted to answer your general question.
And consumers of
In the US in 1950 there were over 16 workers for every retiree. In 2000 there were 3.4 for every retiree. Today it’s 2.8 and still dropping.
Yeah, I was thinking alcohol generally has the opposite effect from the one he claims.
Yes.
Can I buy you a cocktail?
alcohol was always the best lube on any date.
Well, baby, you can, if you want, but you don't need to. You know I can't resist you. Even sober.
And because of that maybe more apt to using contraceptives.
... in other words, lifelong masturbator and conservative expert.
This was a very interesting article. We learned that alcohol is a form of birth control and women who drink heavily for 2 years are equivalent to men who drink for 20 years and evidently most Polish women drink like fish./S
I think Kaczynski may want to consider what the women are saying about living conditions in Poland or at least read US history. Prosperity produces baby booms.
Kaczynski is just another run of the mill populist that the world needs to be rid of before following Dick the Butcher's sarcastic advice.
no wonder republicans want to legislate forced births...
Makes you wonder what's in his wallet. Master-discharge?
Huh and I thought it was because my hubby stood too close to the microwave and radiated his little guys....~JOKING~
Mine wore tight underwear...now he doesn't
So did mine for the longest time - now he likes them loose....hehee
I suppose that they (guy) was ignorant of the fact that alcohol causes this in men. (or didn't want to admit it)
Yes, Mr. Polish guy you're a limp dick.
14 FAQs About ‘Whiskey Dick
It’s what happens when you have a few too many drinks, are ready to do the deed, but then can’t get it up when it’s actually time.
Yep! It’s referred to as alcohol-related erectile dysfunction (ED) . It’s sometimes also called alcohol-induced sexual dysfunction.
It. Is. Very. Real.
I’m sorry, this is backward. Alcohol is how you increase the birth rate.
What's your poison, Tacos?
... strawberry flavored lube and everclear.
Whisk(e)y.
Interesting avatar
reminds me of someone we used to know here
One of the bedroom characters in The Shining?
And another one bites the dust
Good for they, it could be necessary with all of them husbands drinking.