[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 157 (Sunday, November 9, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S12219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              FOREIGN AID

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I hope we can complete these foreign aid 
bills. I would also say to my friend from Mississippi, he mentioned 
whether we should use taxpayers' money for abortion in the foreign aid 
bill. There is a specific prohibition against any U.S. dollars being 
used for abortions abroad in the foreign aid bill.
  In fact, as Senator Mark Hatfield, former chairman of the 
Appropriation Committee, and I pointed out on the floor earlier--he was 
very much a right-to-life, antiabortion Senator, consistent in that--
pointed out that the family planning moneys that have gone in the 
foreign aid bill have dramatically decreased the number of abortions in 
those areas where they were used.
  An example was Russia where abortion was used as a form of birth 
control, where we gave them family planning money and the number of 
abortions dropped dramatically.
  So I hope that we will continue to do that and realize, while family 
planning is something available to most people in the United States, in 
a lot of other countries it is not available because of costs, because 
of techniques, because of training, for whatever reason. Unfortunately, 
in those countries ofttimes abortions are a means of family planning. 
So I hope that those who are against abortion would realize family 
planning money can help us prevent that.

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