Louise Slaughter: “Somebody has to speak for the millions of women around this world who desperately want access to family planning. Even…”

“Somebody has to speak for the millions of women around this world who desperately want access to family planning. Even with the family planning money, we don't reach enough of them. Pregnancy and childbirth are very risky propositions for women in many parts of this globe that lack electricity, running water, medical equipment or trained personnel. In Africa, a woman has a 1 in 16 chance of death from pregnancy and childbirth during their lifetime--585,000 women die from bodies that are worn out from child bearing, child after child, who simply cannot take another. And there are complications from pregnancy. For each one that dies, 100 others suffer from associated illnesses and permanent disabilities, including sterility. Studies indicate if we can space a child for 2 years apart, we can prevent an average of 1 in 4 infant deaths. We are talking about saving people's lives here. Who are we in the United States, where we have so much and so much has been given to us, that we can say to people who have almost nothing, we are not going to give you the information or the knowledge that you need to save your life and to save your family's? This is the cruelest kind of family planning of all, to let women die from excess pregnancies or self-induced abortions.”