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Coalition Statement
Statement and Letter to President Bush on Behalf of Religious Community
Contact Information:
Tony Hileman, Executive Director
Sponsor Organization:
International Committee of Religious Leaders for Voluntary Family Planning
WASHINGTON, April 30 - An ad hoc coalition of people of faith and leaders in the religious community today called on President George Bush to release the full $34 million appropriated for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for Fiscal Year 2002. In a letter to the president, 136 religious leaders from 31 countries said, "As a UN agency, UNFPA is vital to the reproductive health needs of women, men and their families by providing life-saving services such as family planning, and HIV/AIDS prevention, counseling and services to people living in developing countries around the world. As people of faith, we understand that women and men must have access to information and services so they can act morally and responsibly in their sexual behavior. Highly respected religious leaders have supported modern family planning as a moral good." The letter, which was signed by Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, Hindus and Jews, went on to note that, "We believe that UNFPA has been unequivocally committed to providing informed and voluntary family planning. The agency has used, and continues to use, its stature as a UN agency to help governments, like China, to move more and more towards respect for the rights of women and men to decide for themselves on the number and spacing of their children and to move away from draconian practices."
"In the Catholic tradition, caring for the poor and marginalized is a key social teaching. Too often, this value is neglected when conservative Catholic leaders lobby to cut off family planning services or funding. The Catholic leaders who have signed this letter to President Bush know that you can be Catholic and support family planning and they know that women's and children's lives are saved when voluntary family planning is available," said Frances Kissling, president of Catholics for a Free Choice in Washington, DC.
"For Muslim women, family planning is key to their empowerment, and their ability to live responsible Muslim lives," said Zainah Anwar, executive director, Sisters In Islam, Malaysia.
"I understand President Bush's concern about abortion, but every dollar spent on family planning means less illegal, unsafe abortion. Denying UNFPA funding causes more harm than good, in that it means less contraception, producing more unwanted pregnancies and therefore more abortions," said the Rev. Dr. James Martin-Schramm, associate professor of Religion at Luther College in Decorah, IA.
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LETTER FOLLOWS
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Bush,
As people of faith and leaders in the religious community, we are deeply concerned that you are considering defunding the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). We urge you to release the full appropriation of $34 million for the UNFPA in the Fiscal Year 2002 Budget. Religious leaders actively supported the founding of the UN and continue to believe that the UN and its agencies are critical vehicles for world peace and justice. We recognize the importance of the United Nations in providing the world with humanitarian assistance, especially to those living in developing countries. As a UN agency, UNFPA is vital to the reproductive health needs of women, men and their families by providing life-saving services such as family planning, and HIV/AIDS prevention, counseling and services to people living in developing countries around the world.
As people of faith, we understand that women and men must have access to information and services so they can act morally and responsibly in their sexual behavior. Highly respected religious leaders have supported modern family planning as a moral good.
The Dalai Lama has said that "family planning is crucial, especially in the developing world." Anglican Bishop Desmund Tutu stated, "Planned parenthood is an obligation of those who are Christians. Our church thinks we should use scientific methods that assist in planning families."
As people of faith we oppose any coercive measures in reproductive health. We believe that UNFPA has been unequivocally committed to providing informed and voluntary family planning. The agency has used, and continues to use, its stature as a UN agency to help governments, like China, to move more and more towards respect for the rights of women and men to decide for themselves on the number and spacing of their children and to move away from draconian practices. The agency deserves and needs your support.
Again, we respectfully urge you to respond with compassion and provide $34 million for the UNFPA to help them promote the health and well-being of women and families around the world.
Sincerely,
PARTIAL LIST OF SIGNATORIES
American Humanist Association
Americans for Religious Liberty
Rev. Rose Teteki Abbey
Presbyterian Church of Ghana
Rabbi Rebecca Alpert
Associate Professor of Religion and Women's Studies
Temple University, USA
Guinn Blackwell-Eagleson
Minister of Word and Sacrament
Presbyterian Church USA
Rev. Daniel Budd
First Unitarian Church of Cleveland, USA
Albert G. Cohen
Executive Director, Southern California Ecumenical Council
United Church of Christ, USA
Rev. Tom Davis
Chair, Clergy Advisory Board, Planned Parenthood Federation of America
United Church of Christ, USA
Behjat Dehghan
Muslim
President, Association of Iranian Women-USA (AIWUSA)
Dr. Farid Esack
Muslim
Distinguished Walter Mason Fellow in Religion
College of William and Mary
South Africa/USA
Sr. Maureen Fiedler, SL
Roman Catholic
Radio host, Interfaith Voices USA
Prof. Paul H. Gundani
Roman Catholic
Director, United Religions Initiative, Zimbabwe
Dr. Anke Hoenkamp-Bisschops
Catholic Theological University Utrecht, The Netherlands
Rev. Elenora Giddings Ivory
Director, Washington Office
Presbyterian Church USA
June Jacobs
President, International Council of Jewish Women
United Kingdom
Mohammad Hashim Kamali
Muslim
Professor of Islamic Law and Jurisprudence
International Islamic University Malaysia
Rev. Peter Laarman
Senior Minister, Judson Memorial Church
New York, USA
David R. Loy, Ph.D.
Zen Buddhist, Professor in Faculty of International Relations
Bunkyo University, Chigasaki, Japan
Rev. Dr. James B. Martin-Schramm
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Associate Professor of Religion, Luther College, USA
Rev. Timothy McDonald, III
President, African American Ministers Leadership Council
Pastor, First Iconium Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Eriya Murana
Roman Catholic
Branch Manager, AIDS Information Centre, Uganda
Msgr. Dr. Francis Ndamira
National Director, Caritas Uganda
Uganda Catholic Secretariat, Uganda
Mira Poljakovic
President, League of Jewish Women Yugoslavia
Dr. Tavivat Puntarigvivat
Director, Institute of Research and Development
The World Buddhist University, Thailand
Dr. John Raines
Ordained United Methodist Minister
Professor of Religion, Temple University, USA
USA
Dr. Norbert Scholl
Former professor for Catholic Theology and
Religious Teaching at the Pedagogical School, Heidelberg
Germany
Dr. Arvind Sharma
Hindu
Birks Professor of Comparative Religion
McGill University, Canada
Lene Sjorup, Ph.D.
Lutheran
Consultant, Religion and Development, Denmark
Valerie J. Stroud
Coordinator, We Are Church, United Kingdom
John Swomley
Professor Emeritus of Social Ethics
St. Paul School of Theology, USA
Dr. Karma Lekshe Tsomo
Buddhist
President, Sakyadhita: International Association of Buddhist Women, USA
Sr. Ngozi Uti, HHCJ
Roman Catholic
Centre for Women Studies and Intervention, Nigeria
Lonnie Valentine
Religious Society of Friends
Associate Professor of Peace & Justice Studies, Earlham School of Religion, USA
Rev. Carlton Veazey, M.A.
Baptist
Executive Director, Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, USA
Heinz-Juergen Vogels
Roman Catholic
International Federation of Married Catholic Priests, Germany
Ashok Vohra
Hindu
Professor of Philosophy, University of Delhi, India
Elisabeth Denby Wilkes
Roman Catholic
President, Demain l'Eglise, France
James E. Winkler
General Secretary
General Board of Church & Society of The United Methodist Church
USA, Europe, Asia and Africa
Cc:
Colin Powell, Secretary of State
Arthur E. Dewey, Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees and Migration
John Negroponte, United States Ambassador to the United Nations
Representative James Kolbe, Chair, Foreign Operations subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee
Representative Nita Lowey, Ranking Member, Foreign Operations subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee
Senator Patrick Leahy, Chair, Foreign Operations subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee
Senator Mitch McConnell, Ranking Member, Foreign Operations subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee
CONTACT: Patti Miller for the International Committee of Religious Leaders for Voluntary Family Planning, 202-986-6093
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