New Fund Aims to Fill "Decency Gap" Left by Destructive U.S. Policy
February 21, 2006
PAI praises the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID) for pledging an initial 3 million pounds – the equivalent of over US$5 million – to a new fund supporting health organizations that have lost U.S. funding since the re-imposition of the Global Gag Rule. We also commend the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) for creating the fund, which will significantly reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions worldwide.
Population Overload
Media Source: Herald News (NJ)
February 20, 2006
He might have hoped for 10-foot letters on the Astrovision in Times Square, flash-dancing HUMANKIND SWELLS TO 6.5 BILLION. Instead, Les U. Knight found only a gentle cascade of e-mails, a few network squawks and a blurb in the occasional newspaper and on-line blog.
Members of Congress Find Common Ground on Contraceptives
February 13, 2006
PAI Lauds Bipartisan Effort to Increase Access for Women Worldwide
PAI strongly supports the "Ensuring Access to Contraceptives Act of 2006," recently-introduced legislation which transcends political differences by offering a sound approach to reducing the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions among women in the developing world. Led by Representatives Rob Simmons (R-CT) and Dennis Moore (D-KS), members of Congress with vastly different beliefs about abortion have agreed on the goals of this unique bill (H.R. 4736). Co-sponsors include Mark Kirk (R-IL), Judy Biggert (R-IL), Jim Oberstar (D-MN), Vic Snyder (D-AR), Tim Ryan (D-OH) and Michael Michaud (D-ME).
PAI Instrumental in Introduction of Contraceptive Supplies Bill
February 13, 2006
New Bill, Introduced in Congress, Exempts Contraceptives from Global Gag Rule
PAI Urges Congress to Ignore Budget Proposal and Preserve Funding for International Family Planning
February 6, 2006
During last Tuesday's annual State of the Union Address, President Bush proclaimed that “for people everywhere, the United States is a partner for a better life” and admonished that short-changing these cooperative efforts would “increase the suffering and chaos of our world, undercut our long-term security, and dull the conscience of our country.” The President urged Congress “to serve the interests of America by showing the compassion of America.”
Family Planning in Sub-Saharan Africa: Reducing Risks in the Era of AIDS
February 1, 2006
A recent report by an independent task force enlisted by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR, More Than Humanitarianism: A Strategic U.S. Approach toward Africa, 2005) recommends that the U.S. government step up funding to international family planning programs in sub-Saharan Africa as part of a strategy to increase U.S. engagement and prioritize assistance to that region (see p. 16, pp. 119-120).1
Seeing Is Believing: PAI Opposes Outright Congressional Travel Ban
January 30, 2006
PAI urges Congress to find a sensible, measured alternative to a proposed unilateral ban on all privately-funded congressional travel. As congressional leaders wrestle with the fallout from the latest corruption charges involving unethical travel gifts, educational opportunities – such as a cancelled upcoming trip to look at family planning clinics in Tanzania, sponsored in part by PAI – are being missed.
Unintended Consequences: Gag Rule Reduces Contraceptive Access
January 23, 2006
Five years after President Bush reinstated the Global Gag Rule on his first day in office, PAI calls on the Bush administration to show that this policy benefits women and their families in the developing world and actually achieves its implied objective of reducing abortions. In fact, PAI-led research by the Global Gag Rule Impact Project demonstrates that the reality of the gag rule's impact is quite the opposite. The gag rule has cut off family planning funding and worsened existing shortages of contraceptives – including condoms – at a time when they are desperately needed to prevent unintended pregnancies and HIV/AIDS infection. In Kenya alone, eight family planning clinics serving thousands of poor women have been forced to close because of the cut-off of U.S. funding.
Global Gag Rule Threatens Health and Well-Being of Women in the Developing World
January 20, 2006
A Statement from Amy Coen, President/CEO of Population Action International (PAI), on the Fifth Anniversary of the Global Gag Rule:
Our nation's ambivalence about abortion continues to threaten the health and well-being of women in developing nations. When President Bush re-introduced the Global Gag Rule five years ago, he implied that a goal was to decrease the number of abortions. No such effect has been reported. In fact, the gag rule has adversely affected the health of women and families in many countries. At one of the Family Guidance Association's regional health clinics in Ethiopia, plans to hire more medical staff and improve other health care were halted because they lost U.S. funding.
Council on Foreign Relations Calls for Restoring U.S. Leadership on International Family Planning Programs in Africa
January 17, 2006
An independent, blue-ribbon task force sponsored by the U.S.-based Council on Foreign Relations recently issued a detailed report calling for a more comprehensive and strategic U.S. approach toward Africa. In the report, the Task Force – comprised of a diverse group of influentials from across the political spectrum – highlights the pivotal role that slowing rapid population growth must play in U.S. policy toward Africa and the subsequent need for increased U.S. involvement in international family planning programs. PAI lauds the timing of the Task Force's prescriptions, given Congress' upcoming discussions on the fiscal year (FY) 2007 budget.
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