[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 112 (Friday, August 1, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1609]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    FOREIGN RELATIONS AUTHORIZATION ACT, FISCAL YEARS 1998 AND 1999

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                    HON. JUANITA MILLENDER-McDONALD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 30, 1997

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1757) to 
     consolidate international affairs agencies, to authorize 
     appropriations for the Department of State and related 
     agencies for fiscal years 1998 and 1999, and for other 
     purposes:

  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to 
the Smith amendment and support of the Campbell-Smith amendment. To 
deny funding to multilateral and foreign nongovernmental organizations 
that engage in abortion-related activities with their own private funds 
is wrong. To suddenly terminate all U.S. funding for family planning 
worldwide under the United Nations Population Fund based on UNPFA 
activities in China, which do not exist, is punitive and without logic. 
And to prohibit foreign organizations from using their own funds to 
engage in legislative discussions and advocate for abortion-related 
issues is a gag rule in the worst form.
  All of these provisions contradict our Nation's attempts to create 
healthy and prosperous communities across the world. Unfortunately, we 
are living in an era where family planning is not an option, but 
rather, a necessity. Providing education on conditions which may harm a 
woman's pregnancy, on ways to avoid ever even needing an abortion, on 
prenatal care, and on how to care for babies once they are born are all 
necessary components of family planning. This kind of education and the 
delivery of basic health care are needs that transcend politics.
  I thank Mr. Campbell and Mr. Greenwood for standing up for 
responsible foreign policy and making sure that this essential need for 
quality family planning is not stripped from the women and families who 
need it most. I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting the 
Campbell-Greenwood amendment.

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