The world’s population is expected to hit six-billion today, a milestone called “startling” by an official at Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa. Judy Rutledge, vice president of governmental affairs, says family planning works in Iowa and globally to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Rutledge says it took from the dawn of history to the year 1804 for the world to reach one-billion people. She says the global population reached the landmark of three-billion by the year 1960. The world population increases every 12 days by nearly three-million, about the same as the population of Iowa. Rutledge says today’s birth of the world’s six-Billionth human being should make people focus on the planet’s ability to support the rapidly-growing population. Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa is hosting a luncheon today in Des Moines that features a keynote speaker who is a family planning advocate from India, where the population recently reached one-billion.
