Environmental Update Main Global Population Main Population Overview Family Planning Around the World and in the U.S. Sustainable Development, Poverty and Gender Youth Action for the Global Environment Campaign Ecological Footprint Activist Resources Take Action! Contact Us Environmental news, green living tips, and ways to take action: Subscribe to the Sierra Club Insider!

Withheld U.S. Funding to the United Nations Population Fund Since 2002, the Bush Administration has withheld U.S. contributions to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), due to concerns over China's family planning programs. Now, the UNFPA continues to receive zero funding from the United States, which remains the only country in the world to withhold funds for reasons that are not financial. The Bush Administration has justified its decision to withhold U.S. contributions to UNFPA by employing the 1985 "Kemp-Kasten" amendment, which states that if the President determines that an organization "support(s) or participate(s) in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization," funding for that organization may be withheld. In May 2002, President Bush sent a hand-picked group of individuals, including religious leaders, to China to investigate UNFPA's program. Despite the investigative team's finding of "no evidence" of UNFPA's involvement in any coercive tactics, and their recommendation that the money be released to the organization, the President still denied and continues to deny UNFPA funding. UNFPA shared an office with and advised the Chinese state family planning agency- the ONLY family planning organization in the country- to integrate voluntary programs. Because of their efforts, the Bush Administration claims that UNFPA was "participating in the management of" the country's strict and coercive population-control policies. (1) The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) works in developing countries to save women's lives and promote human rights through better reproductive health care, implementing only voluntary family planning programs. One year's withheld funding of $34 million could prevent as many as 2 million unwanted pregnancies and 4,700 maternal deaths in developing countries. As environmentalists, activists and citizens of the United States, it is our responsibility to hold the Administration accountable for this decision and not let the consequences of cutting UNFPA funding go unnoticed or unheard by the American public. Read more about U.S. de-funding of UNFPA. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Call 202-456-1111 and Press 1 for the White House Office of Comment. Your message could go something like this: Now is not the time for the Administration to turn its back on the international community by retracting its support of UNFPA, a UN program that works to save women's lives, promote voluntary family planning programs and empower families to improve their quality of life and the environment. UNFPA does not support China's one-child policy. UNFPA's program is aimed at demonstrating the effectiveness of providing positive, VOLUNTARY family planning models. The Guttmacher Report on Public Policy. Volume 5, Number 4, "Bush Bars UNFPA Funding, Bucking Recommendation of Its Own Investigators." October, 2002. Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club