Care2 member? Log in

Support Real Investment in Family Planning: It's Time to Double the Money

Target: U.S. Congress
Sponsored by: Population Connection

What Will $1 Billion Buy? Security. Stability. Survival.

Few investments promise as positive a return as family planning. But in the last decade, U.S. funding for international family planning programs has declined by almost 40%. At the same time, the number of women of reproductive age in the developing world has increased by more than 275 million.

Today, more than 200 million women in the developing world wish to delay or end childbearing but do not have access to modern contraceptives. Lack of access to family planning services contributes to a host of devastating consequences for the entire world: resource insecurity, social instability, and maternal and child death.

If the United States wants to meet these 21st century challenges, then it is time for a change in direction: a return to real investment in family planning.

An investment of $1 billion – roughly double our current spending – represents the United States fair share of the total cost of meeting the existing unmet need for family planning in the developing world, and it is a good investment in a healthy future for all of us.

Sign the petition, and let Congress know that real investment in family planning will reap massive rewards for the whole planet.

deadline: Ongoing...
goal: 20,000

20,151
signatures!

Sign Petition see who signed this

log in
This petition has been closed. see more petitions

Dear Representative [Last Name]:

Few investments promise as positive a return as family planning. Every additional $100 million provided for family planning will allow 3.6 million additional women to use modern contraceptives and will result in: 2.1 million fewer unintended pregnancies; 825,000 fewer abortions; nearly a million fewer unplanned births; 70,000 fewer infant deaths; and, 4,000 fewer maternal deaths.

Real investment in family planning will:

Save the lives of women and children and improve quality of life for everyone.
Every year, more than half a million women die of pregnancy related causes worldwide and more than fifty million women suffer serious complications related to pregnancy or childbirth. Nearly all of these deaths and injuries are preventable. In fact, universal access to contraceptives could prevent nearly half of all maternal deaths and a significant proportion of infant deaths. The link between expanded access to family planning and increased maternal and child survival has been proven over and over in countries in every part of the world.

Today, there are 200 million women who would like to limit or space pregnancies but have no access to modern methods of contraceptives. Demand for birth control is projected to increase by 40 percent in the next fifteen years. It's time for the United States to renew its commitment to make a real investment in family planning.

Protect the environment and relieve pressure on natural resources.
Continuing population growth in the developing world contributes to resource scarcity and human suffering. Population growth leads to the destruction of forests, the spread of deserts, the pollution and over-fishing of oceans and waterways, and it is a major contributor to the climate change crisis. The end results are resource depletion, environmental degradation and malnutrition.

Failure to give people the ability to make their own choices about childbearing will make solutions to all of these challenges significantly more difficult to find.

Encourage social stability and decrease conflict.
Resource scarcity and other population pressures place stress on fragile governments and other social structures. Many poor countries struggle to maintain health care, schooling and urban infrastructure in the face of rapid population growth. Countries that lack the means to provide the most basic needs of their people -- food, water, housing education, employment -- are at significant risk of instability and conflict. In countries with significant unmet need for contraceptives, high fertility rates are leading to "youth bulges" -- a high proportion of young people with little or no hope of education and employment.

As you know, the United States was once a global leader in supporting family planning, but our contributions to international family planning programs over the past decade have been inadequate. Indeed, our nation is contributing significantly less than it did fourteen years ago. When inflation is considered, we are providing 40 percent less than we did in 1995.

It's time to reverse this trend. That is why I urge you to support significant new funding and policy language to strengthen family planning programs in the FY '09 State Department, Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. Specifically, I ask that you provide a total of $1 billion for family planning in the developing world, including $63.5 million for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). In addition, I urge you to include new policy language to ensure that the UNFPA funding is not withheld by the administration.

To paraphrase former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, family planning builds stronger families, stronger communities and stronger countries. An investment of $1 billion represents the United States fair share of the total cost of meeting the existing unmet need for family planning in the developing world and it is a good investment in a healthy future for all of us.

[Your Comments]

Sincerely,

[Your Name]
[Your Address]

We Support Real Investment in Family Planning!

# 150:

2:42 pm PDT, Apr 23, Debra Arnold, Michigan

# 149:

2:08 pm PDT, Apr 23, Jason Turgeon, Maine
Challenges that others experience affects us all.

# 148:

1:46 pm PDT, Apr 23, Diego Navarro Catalan, Spain

# 147:

1:43 pm PDT, Apr 23, Mels Whe, Vermont

# 146:

1:34 pm PDT, Apr 23, Reta Krukowski, Oklahoma

# 145:

1:04 pm PDT, Apr 23, Sheri Langley, Oregon

# 144:

12:56 pm PDT, Apr 23, Sava Popov, Bulgaria

# 143:

12:39 pm PDT, Apr 23, Jon Secviar, Indiana

# 142:

12:35 pm PDT, Apr 23, Alisa Kerwood, Oregon

# 141:

12:33 pm PDT, Apr 23, Valerie Williams, California

# 140:

12:27 pm PDT, Apr 23, Dogan Ozkan, Turkey

# 139:

12:26 pm PDT, Apr 23, Bujor Mirela, Romania

# 138:

12:20 pm PDT, Apr 23, Name not displayed, Tennessee

# 137:

11:50 am PDT, Apr 23, Jamie Rogers, California

# 136:

11:43 am PDT, Apr 23, Kathryn Lebert, Canada

# 135:

11:36 am PDT, Apr 23, Lynne Forester, California

# 134:

11:36 am PDT, Apr 23, Jerilyn Merideth, Mississippi

# 133:

11:16 am PDT, Apr 23, Rosa Ranger, Michigan

# 132:

11:10 am PDT, Apr 23, Dolores Whitley, Delaware

# 131:

11:02 am PDT, Apr 23, Billie Ozerengin, New York

# 130:

10:53 am PDT, Apr 23, Holly Sullivan, California

# 129:

10:47 am PDT, Apr 23, Samantha Edwards, Texas

# 128:

10:27 am PDT, Apr 23, Kimberly Tilley, Idaho

# 127:

10:15 am PDT, Apr 23, Marjorie Davis, Connecticut
People have to take responsibility for the amount of children they have.As a woman I think the greater responsibility rests with us to prevent ourselves from carelessly bringing children we cannot adequately care for into this world. There are too many women who are sex-crazy, sexually irresponsible and are too busy having children they cannot care for and then ask the government to care for them. Let's get real, some of these women need their head examined. They need to realize that childbirth has to stop being a "badge of honor" that they want to wear because of their selfish misconceptions rather than their ability to care for these children. This gross CARELESSNESS has got to stop, then the burden on the Government and taxes on citizens will not be so burdensome. We have to take responsibility for our own lives.

# 126:

10:02 am PDT, Apr 23, Lori Beth schwab, California
please support this cause for the good of all

# 125:

9:57 am PDT, Apr 23, Lia Robb, Kansas

# 124:

9:52 am PDT, Apr 23, Phyllis Krystal, Washington
Increase the funding for Family Planning: Let's be truly responsible for once.

# 123:

9:40 am PDT, Apr 23, Lauren Baldasari, New Jersey

# 122:

9:39 am PDT, Apr 23, Clarkeink@verizon.net Clarke, California
Some people must be brave enough to stop listening to religions with agendas which do not allow birth control; there are too many people already, and many families cannot support/carefor/give the right upbringing to/ more children. We must stop multiplying RIGHT NOW. Earth cannot support us as things are....and it is only going to get worse.

# 121:

9:32 am PDT, Apr 23, S Choi, New Jersey

# 120:

9:32 am PDT, Apr 23, John Bazluke, Florida

# 119:

9:21 am PDT, Apr 23, Terri Schirmer, Arizona

# 118:

9:18 am PDT, Apr 23, Jenine Whitehawk, Texas

# 117:

9:13 am PDT, Apr 23, Patricia Horta, Brazil
If less money were allocated to wars we would have more for Family Planning and programs for homes, food, etc. Let�s remember that the American family is the basis for a free and democratic America.

# 116:

8:51 am PDT, Apr 23, Toni Nesbitt-Hanson, Texas
This is the #1 cause of global pollution. We need better birth control. Make love not more.

# 115:

8:40 am PDT, Apr 23, Gino Foti, Massachusetts

# 114:

8:34 am PDT, Apr 23, Lin Penrose, California

# 113:

8:32 am PDT, Apr 23, Anita Dzogovic, Florida

# 112:

8:16 am PDT, Apr 23, AW Si Xiang, Malaysia

# 111:

8:12 am PDT, Apr 23, Pam Wilkinson, Michigan

# 110:

8:11 am PDT, Apr 23, Angela Jasper, Texas

# 109:

7:38 am PDT, Apr 23, BiLL Fowlie, Maine

# 108:

7:34 am PDT, Apr 23, Nick Hardy, Florida

# 107:

7:21 am PDT, Apr 23, Jacqueline Tremlin, Idaho

# 106:

7:13 am PDT, Apr 23, Laura Hewitt Redhawk, Pennsylvania

# 105:

7:10 am PDT, Apr 23, Bethany Murphy, Oklahoma

# 104:

7:05 am PDT, Apr 23, Marie McClure, Florida

# 103:

7:01 am PDT, Apr 23, Jennifer Posanka, Illinois

# 102:

6:55 am PDT, Apr 23, Whit Scott, North Carolina

# 101:

6:54 am PDT, Apr 23, Sandra Weissbrodt, Germany
Give the women the chance to decide for themselves and for the sake of our planet.

View Signatures:
|<
<
20,154
20,100
20,050
...
250
200
150
100
50
>
>|

Support Real Investment in Family Planning: It's Time to Double the Money

This petition has been closed.