Are human beings an asset to the world, to a country, or a liability? Does the birth of a child enrich or impoverish the world? The worth of a person in financial terms has a positive value; a new human being enlarges the market, adds to the workforce, pays taxes, is a new consumer, a participant in the democratic process.

The advances in the world, in all fields of endeavour, were made by exceptional individuals of all nationalities, geniuses who appear in the world as rare breeds. No one knows the potential of an individual at birth, given the right nurturing and education.

One may be holding a future Leonardo, an Einstein, a Shakespeare, a brilliant creative individual who will come up with the next breakthrough to solve one of the many complex problems facing mankind and advance civilisation. Remember Herod and the birth of Jesus?

Admittedly this is a matter of probability which gives a positive expected value to a new life. If we were to answer the above question in negative terms, we may as well pack up our businesses and die of desperation.

The above arguments apply in cases of abortion, low fertility rate, accepting new immigrants. A single teenage mother, or any kind of mother, is a contributor to society and while pregnant and raising a child is working for the good of the community and should be supported and adequately remunerated.

Immigrants to a country are inflating the assets of that country provided that their presence is appreciated, they are supported on arrival and assisted to integrate into the new society. At the very beginnings the country will be investing its resources in the new immigrants.

The returns will be seen years later, as the country matures. The question arises, how many immigrants can the country absorb within its geography and economy? This will depend on the density of the population. The density of the population in Malta is about 1,200 persons per square kilometre.

Since we do not have a theoretical figure for a maximum, let us look at other parts of the world. Take the thriving city states of Singapore and Hong Kong where the density of population is about 6,500 per square kilometre. So, there is no cause for alarm with new immigrants, we are far from being saturated.