Washington, DC - President Bush’s emerging hostility to family planning programs is on a collision course with efforts to combat overpopulation, says the nonpartisan population policy organization Negative Population Growth (NPG).
In recent weeks, the Bush administration rejected proposals from Georgia and New York to provide subsidized contraceptives to low-income residents and signaled to seven other states that similar plans would not win approval. The proposals, which would not have paid for abortions, were intended to help reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies.
The move was the latest in a series of attempts by the Bush administration to scale back family planning services. Earlier this year, Bush banned aid to overseas family planning organizations that use their own funds to provide or discuss abortion. He also proposed eliminating contraceptive coverage for federal employees, a plan rejected by the House of Representatives last week.
“Family planning services are an essential part of any nation’s overall population policy,” says NPG executive director Sharon McCloe Stein. “By making it harder for people to make responsible family planning decisions, Bush is undermining efforts around the globe to lower our population to a smaller, more sustainable size and is putting our environment and quality of life at risk.”
The U.S. population is slated to grow from 284 million today to more than 400 million by 2050. Pointing out that America’s environmental resources are cracking under the strain of such high growth, NPG has called on President Bush and Congress to establish a comprehensive national population policy to stabilize U.S. population at a smaller, more sustainable size. NPG advocates universal access to family planning and incentives for smaller families.
More than one-third of American women of reproductive age rely on publicly funded family planning, and polls consistently show that the vast majority of Americans support access to contraception.
For comment or additional information, contact Alison Green at (202) 667-8950.
