Abortion itself isn't a particularly good direct way to control population, and there are others which are just as effective which have been used traditionally in many cultures: infanticide.
That said, a number of people with a strong expressed interest in population control, for example, the Ehrlichs, include family planning, but not forced methods of population control (e.g., forced abortions or sterilization) among the methods they advocate. See for example One With Nineveh.
Ehrlich does note on page 189:
"By the mid-twentieth century, abortions were being performed legally in some other [non-US] parts of the world. In the SovietUnion and eastern Europe, contraceptives were often unreliable and usually unavailable, so abortion was the primary means of birth control."
A few paragraphs later:
"Abortion is a difficult issue for most peopple, and most people would prefer to see safe and effective contraception widely available to, and used by, all sexually active individuals. If this were to happen, the abortion controversy, perhaps the* biggest source of ethical dispute in our society today, could go away."
His primary focus though is addressed in the following section: "Influencing Reproduction Decisions", largely via education, incentive policies, and family planning services, principally other than abortion.
That said, a number of people with a strong expressed interest in population control, for example, the Ehrlichs, include family planning, but not forced methods of population control (e.g., forced abortions or sterilization) among the methods they advocate. See for example One With Nineveh.
Ehrlich does note on page 189:
"By the mid-twentieth century, abortions were being performed legally in some other [non-US] parts of the world. In the SovietUnion and eastern Europe, contraceptives were often unreliable and usually unavailable, so abortion was the primary means of birth control."
A few paragraphs later:
"Abortion is a difficult issue for most peopple, and most people would prefer to see safe and effective contraception widely available to, and used by, all sexually active individuals. If this were to happen, the abortion controversy, perhaps the* biggest source of ethical dispute in our society today, could go away."
His primary focus though is addressed in the following section: "Influencing Reproduction Decisions", largely via education, incentive policies, and family planning services, principally other than abortion.