Pastor urges rethink on population policy, warns against ‘have more children’ message

A leading pastor has urged the government to revisit its population growth strategy, cautioning that telling citizens simply to “have more children” risks deepening social and economic challenges unless it is backed by stronger family, adoption, and moral support policies.

At a press conference hosted by Family Faith Freedom Barbados at the First Baptist Church, Constitution Road, Pastor Paul Leacock said that while the administration has made it clear that it wants to boost the island’s population, the focus should be on raising responsible citizens, not just increasing numbers.

“Government can have a policy of encouraging young mothers or young parents so that they can raise that population, yes,” he said. “But rather than simply saying ‘have children to repopulate the nation’, that can be very irresponsible. We don’t just want children, we want people who are raised as responsible citizens… people who are working, who have good moral values, who can help sustain the country.”

One of the policy areas he believes requires immediate attention is adoption, which he described as “weak and ill-defined” under current law.

“We need in this country to look at adoption. If a parent says they can’t support another child, there are people who gladly will have that child in their care. We need to look at our adoption policies,” he said, adding that improving the system could reduce the pressures that lead some women to choose abortion.

Pastor Leacock also suggested that government could introduce practical incentives such as tax breaks for families.

“From an economic perspective, government can give tax credits if you have children, [or] persons who have children should pay less taxes. All of that can be easily done,” he said, adding that support for marriage and stable households should also form part of a long-term population plan.

The pastor stressed that the organisation’s concerns were both moral and economic, noting that an ageing society without a strong working-age population would strain the social system and the church.

“If we have a large geriatric population and a very small youth population that cannot sustain that, it’s going to register in the church,” he said. “We see in the church everything in society, good and bad. We must teach our young and we must care for our elders.”

He noted that churches already play a major role in elder care and cannot abandon vulnerable members even when their own families do.

“Pastors have to make sure elderly members are taken care of and not just thrown to the side. If the family abandons the member in the hospital, the church can’t say ‘we will abandon you too’. The church has to deal with that.”

Pastor Leacock also argued that the government should review its position on publicly funded abortions, linking the issue directly to population sustainability.

“That means we’re taking other people’s children to fix our problem. How about not taking the life of our children?” he said.

He said that the Family Faith Freedom organisation “wants to see a sustainable Barbados — not only morally, but economically”.  (LE)