Bishop decries German pronatalist policies.

THE BISHOP OF AUGSBURG, Walter Mixa, has denounced a proposed policy that would make it easier for German women to have more children, claiming that expanding access to day care would do little more than turn women into "birthing machines." Germany has one of the lowest birthrates in Europe, and the minister for family and youth--Ursula von der Leyen, a member of the conservative Christian Democratic Party and a mother of seven--hopes to encourage more families to have children by providing an additional 750,000 places in day care facilities by 2013 for children under three.

Deutsche Welle reports the bishop claimed that the government plan would be "harmful for children and families" because it would encourage women to return to work soon after giving birth. Cardinal Joachim Meisner of Cologne agreed, stating that day care should be used only in "emergencies and exceptional cases." However, Cardinal Karl Lehmann, bishop of Mainz and chairman of the German bishops's conference, disagreed, saying he supports the government's plan.