The fanaticism started with the belief that “overpopulation” was the source of many, if not most, of the world’s ills: Not only would unchecked population lead to famine, it would open the door to, among other things, political instability, environmental degradation, and even communist subversion.

If this all sounds familiar, it should: “Overpopulation” was an all-purpose bogeyman much like anthropogenic global warming is today. Just as some alarmists today envision New York under 25 feet of water, some population alarmists predicted global population in excess of 100 billion!

In the face of such a so-called “threat,” human dignity gave way. If people did not “voluntarily” limit family size, then coercion and deception stepped in. In India, for example, millions of men and women were sterilized against their will.

What Mosher calls “costs” were not limited to overt human-rights abuses. Around the world, money that should have gone to primary health care was diverted to population-control programs: African doctors report facilities filled with condoms and contraceptives while antibiotics and sterile needles were unavailable.

The abuses and tragedies chronicled by Mosher, which I will discuss over the next couple of days, is an infuriating but strong example of why worldviews matter. What was done to people around the developing world proceeded directly from ideas about the dignity and worth of human life—or, the lack thereof.

You also need to hear this because you underwrote the abuses by your tax dollars. While it may be too late to undo the damage already done, we must learn from this and prevent future abuses.