Dear Friend,
The Trump Administration is promoting a punitive foreign policy that punishes the world’s most vulnerable women.
As many had feared, on Monday the United States announced the complete elimination of its funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)—the world’s most important agency for reproductive health. This cut includes vital humanitarian assistance to refugees and famine-stricken areas.
The International Women’s Health Coalition won’t stand for it–and neither should you.
UNFPA is the largest international provider of contraception, and family planning and reproductive health services. The United States is its second largest donor. In 2016, United States support for UNFPA prevented an estimated 320,000 pregnancies and averted 100,000 unsafe abortions, ensuring that 800,000 people had access to contraception. For women in areas affected by conflict and humanitarian crisis— when access to reproductive health care is otherwise severely limited—UNFPA is a crucial provider.
Foreign policy should be rooted in evidence and results, not ideology and political punishment. Denying needed funding to the UNPFA means that the United States has actively chosen to destabilize reproductive health programs in more than 155 countries. Just as the Trump Administration did with its reinstatement of the Global Gag Rule, these policies use a thin veneer of political opposition to abortion to severely limit women’s choices and control their bodies.
The International Women’s Health Coalition is asking the U.S government to maintain its commitment to UNFPA, to prioritize health and science, and to remember that women know best how to control their own bodies and lives.
Sincerely,
Shannon Kowalski
Advocacy and Policy Director