DEAR EDITOR:

I am writing in regard to the recent "pro-life" display on the UB front lawns. I will not engage in a debate about abortion; others can do that more eloquently than I. However, it should be pointed out what the pro-lifers are really about: a pro-Christian, only-Christian agenda. There are 4,200 pieces of evidence to support this contention. One need only look at the form of the "protest": 4,200 white CROSSES.

What exactly does this mean? Does it mean only Christian women need not have abortions, but we of the gutter religions may do as we wish? Or does it mean that unborn souls are already Christian, only to be borrowed by non-Christian parents for their time on earth? Or, are we non-Christians not a part of the "big picture" in a Christian America?

So, if you are personally against abortion, fine with me. However, before you support one of these pro-life groups, be clear that this is not the American way, not the moral (meaning for everyone) highroad, but really a Christians-only scheme that further divides an already divided America.

HARVEY AXLEROD

Computer and Information Technology

Commitment needed to create more equitable global society

TO THE EDITOR:

The week of Oct. 22-29, 1995 has been designated as World Population Awareness Week. This is the time to reflect on the course that we, the residents of the planet Earth, are taking. The Earth's population is presently 5.6 billion. This number by itself may appear to be meaningless. But if we consider that it took about 30,000 years to reach a world population of 1 billion, 123 years to reach 2 billion, 47 years to double that amount and then 13 years to add the fifth billion, the situation becomes frightening. It is projected that at the present rate of growth of 1.7 percent annually the population will double again in about 40 years, with the fastest growth occurring in the poorest countries.

Some politicians keep their minds closed to the fact that if population keeps growing at the present rate, the earth will not be able to accommodate the increasing demand on its limited resources. They maintain that the free market and technology will solve all our problems. They theorize that when the developing countries raise their living standards, their population growth will slow down. The fact is that the rate of economic development of these countries cannot keep up with the rate of population growth. Consequently the gap between the have and the have not is widening. Whereas one billion people enjoy an opulent lifestyle and consume 70 percent of all resources, another billion lives in appalling poverty, suffering hunger, malnutrition and ill health. Whereas Americans spend $5 billion annually on weight-reducing diets, 400 million people consume diets insufficient to maintain normal body and mind functions.

The creation of a sustainable and more equitable global society cannot be accomplished without the United States' commitment to curbing its high consumption level as well as its full participation in the population stabilization policies. An international effort to raise the status and education of women, and to provide them with access to family planning services is essential.

For information on what everyone of us can do, contact Zero Population Growth, 1400 16th St. NW, Suite 320, Washington, DC 20036, phone (202) 332-2200.

SIGMUND F. ZAKRZEWSKI

UB Professor Emeritus