Peace Without Poison

Montenegro’s sub-replacement level fertility can certainly not be explained by the country’scontraceptive prevalence rate, which was never higher than 52% and is currently at 39%.The historical record shows that abortions have played an important but not primary role inMontenegro’s fertility reduction during the 1970s and 1980s when c. 40% of all pregnanciesended in abortion. During the 1990s the abortion rate fell to 35% and since the turn of the 21 stcentury the rate has declined even more rapidly, to 20% by 2005 and to less than 10% to date.This demonstrates that abortions cannot possibly explain Montenegro’s sub-replacement levelfertility since 1997 and cannot even explain the rapid drop in fertility from 1954 to 1984 whenthe fertility rate declined from nearly 5 to just 2 children per woman.The only possible explanation for Montenegro’s demographic transition is covert methods ofdepopulation used illegally by the government.Montenegro is in the fifth and last stage of the demographic transition.546 | P a g e