Lynn C. Woolsey: “our world's population is growing at an alarming rate. Resources are being consumed faster than they can be renewed.…”

“our world's population is growing at an alarming rate. Resources are being consumed faster than they can be renewed. This exploding population is leaving poverty, malnutrition, widespread transmission of disease, and environmental degradation in its wake. That is why, Mr. Chairman, support for reproductive health services is becoming more important every day. Voluntary family planning services give mothers and families new choices and hope. They increase child survival and promote safe childhood and safe motherhood. Without our support for international family planning, women in developing nations will face more unwanted pregnancies, more poverty, more despair. Mr. Chairman, it continues to be extremely ironic that the same people who would deny women in the developing world the choice of an abortion would also seek to eliminate support for family planning programs, programs that reduce the need for abortion in the first place. Without access to safe and affordable family planning services, there will be more abortions, not fewer, the abortions will be less safe and put more women's lives in danger. To this end, Mr. Chairman, the very least we can do is pass the Campbell-Greenwood-Lowey amendment. We should not be playing political football with international family planning funds.”