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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

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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!

# 20,100:

10:15 pm PDT, Jul 1, Boothe Davis, West Virginia
Time to work our way out of the dark ages, again. These programs are vital for the health and well-being of people of all nations, and for the future of humanity in general.

# 20,099:

9:23 pm PDT, Jul 1, Patricia Toher, New York

# 20,098:

6:55 pm PDT, Jul 1, Name not displayed, North Carolina

# 20,097:

4:03 pm PDT, Jul 1, Ruth Campbell, New York

# 20,096:

1:46 pm PDT, Jul 1, Mike De Winter, Michigan

# 20,095:

1:17 pm PDT, Jul 1, Name not displayed, Colorado

# 20,094:

12:07 pm PDT, Jul 1, Ashley Lundy, Texas

# 20,093:

10:38 am PDT, Jul 1, Name not displayed, Missouri

# 20,092:

7:10 am PDT, Jul 1, Tracy Zuber, Texas

# 20,091:

6:57 am PDT, Jul 1, Stephanie Highfill, Texas

# 20,090:

4:42 am PDT, Jul 1, Lucy Duke, Tennessee

# 20,089:

3:04 am PDT, Jul 1, Brandon Sorenson, Texas
Please help in this, folks, or we're going to end up with more people than planet.

# 20,088:

2:58 am PDT, Jul 1, Mary Garton, California

# 20,087:

10:49 pm PDT, Jun 30, J Robles, Texas

# 20,086:

9:14 pm PDT, Jun 30, Mike Richardson, New Mexico

# 20,085:

7:38 pm PDT, Jun 30, Barbara Gavin, Minnesota

# 20,084:

7:11 pm PDT, Jun 30, Donna and Mr. George Allison, North Carolina
Overpopulation is a huge problem, and the concern over whether the earth will be able to support this population is growing for me. Women should have access to contraceptives everywhere, so that they can make the choice about raising a child.

# 20,083:

4:59 pm PDT, Jun 30, Richard Polly, Minnesota
planned familys have much less stress,better outcomes,and are more productive.

# 20,082:

4:43 pm PDT, Jun 30, Emily Derks, Colorado

# 20,081:

3:03 pm PDT, Jun 30, Paul Strecker, California

# 20,080:

2:43 pm PDT, Jun 30, Stephanie Sklar, Maryland

# 20,079:

1:43 pm PDT, Jun 30, Randall Smith, Minnesota

# 20,078:

12:47 pm PDT, Jun 30, Name not displayed, Colorado

# 20,077:

11:21 am PDT, Jun 30, Renee Reece-Murray, Minnesota

# 20,076:

11:10 am PDT, Jun 30, Chas Cook, Texas

# 20,075:

10:12 am PDT, Jun 30, Keith Razack, New York

# 20,074:

9:51 am PDT, Jun 30, Sandra Ketelaar, Colorado

# 20,073:

9:50 am PDT, Jun 30, Name not displayed, North Carolina

# 20,072:

9:48 am PDT, Jun 30, Vinit Allen, California

# 20,071:

9:44 am PDT, Jun 30, Liz Hendren, Minnesota

# 20,070:

9:31 am PDT, Jun 30, Karla Walters, Kansas

# 20,069:

9:30 am PDT, Jun 30, Elizabeth Waugh-Stewart, North Carolina
If the US really cares about the health and well-being of women and children, it should support family planning for ALL families.

# 20,068:

8:36 am PDT, Jun 30, Larry Hochman, New Jersey

# 20,067:

8:14 am PDT, Jun 30, Rachel Tanksley, North Carolina

# 20,066:

7:10 am PDT, Jun 30, Karl S, Minnesota

# 20,065:

7:09 am PDT, Jun 30, Name not displayed, North Carolina

# 20,064:

7:03 am PDT, Jun 30, Name not displayed, Illinois
Isn't it obvious?

# 20,063:

6:55 am PDT, Jun 30, Krisandra Parsons, Texas

# 20,062:

6:11 am PDT, Jun 30, Denise Fogel, Minnesota

# 20,061:

6:03 am PDT, Jun 30, Cynthia Medlin, Texas
Affordable family planning should be every woman's right.

# 20,060:

5:16 am PDT, Jun 30, Janet Amber, Pennsylvania

# 20,059:

5:14 am PDT, Jun 30, Sandra Magers, Texas
Please help families by helping with international family planning programs, because it will help so much with improving the quality of life for millions of people.

# 20,058:

4:25 am PDT, Jun 30, Allen Rapatz, Minnesota

# 20,057:

4:13 am PDT, Jun 30, Rick Siegert, Georgia

# 20,056:

12:32 am PDT, Jun 30, Kathleen Jefferies, Colorado

# 20,055:

10:37 pm PDT, Jun 29, Sedika Gazey, Minnesota

# 20,054:

10:28 pm PDT, Jun 29, Kim Fortin, Minnesota

# 20,053:

10:25 pm PDT, Jun 29, Shannon Patrick, Texas

# 20,052:

9:18 pm PDT, Jun 29, Name not displayed, Texas
There would be a lot less starving people and babies if contraception were provided to all women who want it. Free women now!

# 20,051:

8:30 pm PDT, Jun 29, John Case, Texas

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

This petition has been closed.