[NOW Actions] Support International Women's Health Services

Support NOW's Work |	June 11, 2008	| Tell a Friend

Action Needed Background All NOW Actions More about women's health issues		Support International Women's Health Services Restore funds for the United Nations Population Fund Millions of girls and women around the world are suffering and many are dying due to deplorable reproductive-related health services and they need our help. Action Needed: Contact your senators and tell them to join Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) in sponsoring and supporting the United Nations Population Fund Restoration Act of 2008 (S. 2682). This legislation will provide funding to the United Nations Population Fund in order to distribute medical equipment, establish maternal health services, distribute contraceptives, and promote the abandonment of female genital mutilation and child marriage worldwide. Women around the world should be able to have children and raise their families without the fear of disability, suffering, and death. A woman's right to safe and sufficient health services is a human right. All women should be able to live healthy lives and enjoy their sexuality and child bearing years free from forced pregnancies and the dread of disease and death. Take Action NOW Background: Women in poverty, especially those living in developing countries, suffer disproportionately from unintended and forced pregnancies, maternal death and disability, and sexually transmitted diseases. More than 500,000 women worldwide die during childbirth and 10 million women experience serious complications from pregnancy, including obstetric fistula, annually. Every year 3 million girls face female genital mutilation and cutting. Women around the world want to use safe and effective family planning methods, but they cannot because they do not have access to health care services and family planning information. U.S foreign aid has historically supported these health care and family planning services and provisions as important tools to help people and nations rise from poverty. Since 2002, the Bush Administration has suspended U.S. contributions to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), succumbing to right wing pressure and allegations that the organizations receiving these family planning funds helped to provide abortions to China. This suspension persisted despite findings that there is no evidence to support the statement about China. The legislation will reinstate these funds which will be used to: provide medicine and supplies to ensure safe childbirth and emergency obstetric care make contraceptives available to prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS establish maternal health services in areas that lack them promote the reduction and abandonment of genital mutilation and cutting as well as child marriage Take Action NOW Contact your Senators TODAY and let them know that it is time to stop playing partisan, fundamentalist politics with women's lives around the world. They must support this bill.
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