For Immediate Release:	July 22, 2002
For More Information:	Mark Daley, Population Action International (PAI), mdaley@popact.org, (202) 557-3446
Sponsor Organization:	Population Connection
"Millions of poor women and children’s lives at risk for the sake of a handful of anti-family planning extremists."
Washington, DC – President Bush’s decision to cut U.S. funding to vital international family planning programs puts “millions of poor women and children’s lives at risk for the sake of a handful of anti-family planning extremists,” says Peter H. Kostmayer, Population Connection President. “The President had the opportunity to reject the hard-line extremists -- who want to stop women getting access to voluntary family planning services -- and put the weight of his office behind programs that are actually delivering on his vision for improved human dignity. Now we know how he really stands,” says Kostmayer, a former seven-term U.S. Congressman and senior EPA official in the Clinton administration. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), through its reproductive health care programs, helps women in the world’s poorest countries to plan and space the number of children they wish to have. It helps to prevent the need for abortions and deliver healthy babies. It saves thousands of women and children's lives every year. It fights human rights abuses. United States support is crucial for its continued success. UNFPA grew out of a worldwide consensus that women should have better access to family planning and reproductive health services. On the other hand, the president’s decision emerged out of right field -- upon the urgings of vehemently anti-family planning organizations. UNFPA is a crucial ally in what the First Lady has called the “fight for the rights and dignity of women,” and was recognized as such by Secretary of State Colin Powell when he testified to the agency’s “invaluable work.” UNFPA commands substantial bipartisan support in Congress and enjoys the support of governments the world over, regardless of their political hue. “I strongly urge members of Congress to act on the President’s disastrous decision and to restore our nation’s support for one of the world’s most compassionate and successful humanitarian efforts,” Kostmayer stressed. ENDS Notes to editor Population Connection is America's premier non-profit environmental organization working to educate people about the links between population issues and the quality of life of everyone on Earth.