Today, in a 216-211 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives compromised the lives and health of millions of women by refusing to reinstate the U.S. contribution to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) – the world’s largest international reproductive health organization.

"It is unconscionable that our government is sacrificing the health and lives of women and their families in low-income countries simply to please an extreme anti-family planning minority," said Nancy Northup, President of the Center for Reproductive Rights. "UNFPA’s programs save lives by providing modern equipment to hospitals and improving pre-natal and maternal health care in countries like Afghanistan, where maternal mortality rates are among the highest in the world," added Northup.

UNFPA promotes respect for international human rights by supporting voluntary family planning and reproductive health programs around the world that provide health care services to improve women’s health and lives. These programs assist women realize their internationally recognized human right to health, particularly reproductive health, and their right to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children.

UNFPA’s programs focus on areas such as the prevention of HIV/AIDS, providing adequate medical care for pregnant women, increasing access to education and family planning services, promoting gender equality and preventing women and girls from being subjected to coercion and violence. UNFPA is spearheading a campaign to end obstetric fistula, has been providing emergency obstetric care in Iraq and recently opened a maternity hospital in Afghanistan, where the majority of women have no access to medical care during pregnancy and childbirth. UNFPA ensures reproductive health services to women in over 140 countries around the world.

Last year, the Bush Administration pulled the money allotted for UNFPA after pressure from an anti-family planning fringe group, which objected to UNFPA’s work in China. White House and British delegations, sent to China to investigate the allegations made by this right-wing organization, concluded that UNFPA was not participating in any programs that conducted forced sterilizations or abortions in China, and instead recommended that the United States continue to provide funding for UNFPA.