Christian Science Monitor Examines U.S. Global Family Planning Support Outlook With Democratic President

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 15 Jan 2008 - 5:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

Christian Science Monitor columnist David Francis on Monday examined possible changes in U.S. family planning policy if a Democrat is elected president. According to Francis, some family planning experts "anticipate a boon for mankind" if a Democrat is elected because the election likely would lead to a "greater effort" by the U.S. to "restrain world population growth."

U.S. financial contributions for family planning programs peaked in 1995 at $577 million, and current spending on such programs is 41% less than in 1995 when adjusted for inflation, Tod Preston, vice president of U.S. government relations at Population Action International, said. According to Francis, many family planning advocates view a "reduction in population growth as crucial to the health of the world's environment and for easing competition for resources" and hope the next U.S. president will "restore" U.S. contributions to the United Nations Population Fund, which President Bush halted in 2002.

If a Democrat is elected, most family planning experts anticipate a "quick repudiation" of the so-called "Mexico City" policy, also known as the "global gag rule," Francis writes (Francis, Christian Science Monitor, 1/14). The Mexico City policy bars U.S. funding to foreign nongovernmental organizations that, with non-U.S. funds, provide or pay for abortion services or counseling or engage in advocacy on abortion-related issues (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 12/17/07).

J. Joseph Speidel, a reproductive health expert at the Bixby Center for Reproductive Health Research and Policy, authored a study that found voluntary family planning programs can decrease population growth and "alleviate the increasing burden it places on the environment." According to the study, there have been dramatic reductions in birth rates in a short time from organized voluntary family planning programs in a number of places, including California, Thailand and Iran. In Iran, the total fertility rate stands at 2.1 children, down from 5.5 children in 1988. In Thailand, the fertility rate has dropped below replacement level to fewer than two births per woman, compared with seven births per woman 20 years ago.

The U.S. will have to overcome "determined opposition from social and other ideological conservatives" to increase the availability of voluntary programs, Speidel said (Christian Science Monitor, 1/14).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

© 2007 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.