For Immediate Release:	July 23, 2002
For More Information:	Marjorie Signer, Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, msigner@rcrc.org, 202-628-7700 ext. 208
Sponsor Organization:	Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
STATEMENT OF REVEREND CARLTON W. VEAZEY, PRESIDENT, RELIGIOUS COALITION FOR REPRODUCTIVE CHOICE
The Administration’s refusal to release $34 million allocated by Congress for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) will have deadly consequences. By UNFPA’s reliable calculations, two million unwanted, unintended pregnancies will occur and more than 77,000 infants and children will die as a result of the frozen funds. People of faith demand an end to this shameful injustice. The Administration, in withholding funds, accepted allegations that UNFPA is involved in coercive abortions and sterilizations just because it works in China. However, the Executive Director of UNFPA, Ms. Thoraya Obaid, has stated that UNFPA’s program in China observed the highest standards of human rights and that the participation was voluntary. The three person fact-finding team sent to China reportedly found no evidence to support the allegations. This is only the most recent investigation to have found no evidence of coercion in UNFPA's reproductive health programs, including that of a delegation headed by an anti-choice Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Edward Leigh. More than 500,000 women worldwide die every year from pregnancy-related causes, including clandestine abortions. Family planning services such as those expertly and compassionately provided by UNFPA can reduce this tragic death toll and build strong, healthy families—a value we all hold dear. The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice encourages the release of these funds so UNFPA can continue its vital family planning programs in developing countries. The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, founded in 1973, is the national alliance of 38 organizations from 16 denominations and faith groups, including the Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist Association, and Reform and Conservative Judaism. ###