Political Quotes

“the Senate and House will soon vote on the President's finding that withholding disbursement of USAID family planning funds until July 1, 1997, will cause serious damage to the proper functioning of the program. It is no surprise that the President reached this conclusion. It is beyond dispute that family planning services, including the provision of modern contraceptives, are the most effective way to prevent unwanted pregnancies and abortions. The examples that the President cites to support his finding should be read by every Member of Congress. They illustrate the harm these restrictions have already done to the program, and the further harm, measured in the numbers of women who will die from unsafe abortions that could be prevented, and children who will die from disease or starvation because their families could not care for them, as well as in added administrative costs, that a further delay in disbursement will cause. They also refute the flagrantly erroneous claim of the right-to-life lobby, that this vote is about whether or not to provide $123 million to organizations that fund abortion. Not one dime of these funds can be used for abortion, and the vote is only about when, not whether, these funds will be disbursed.”