What are the obstacles in the way of Safe Motherhood in Washington DC?
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Thursday, February 21, 2008
Liveblog and Videocast for Safe Motherhood
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9 comments:
I can’t make it to Washington, DC, and I don’t have a lot of money to contribute, so what can I do from home to help change this situation?
Hi, I’m Jesse Laymon, Outreach Coordinator for Americans for UNFPA.
I’ll be live online here on Monday March 3rd and Tuesday the 4th from 1 Eastern to 3 Eastern each day, answering questions and follow-ups about the roadblocks to U.S support for Safe Motherhood.
So use the box on the right part of your screen to enter your question, and look below for the answer.
What does DC do to make motherhood safer domestically?
Laura, good question. The U.S. has a comparatively low rate of maternal death, (American women have a 1/4800 lifetime risk of dying in childbirth), and our government does play a role in making domestic motherhood safer (especially through healthcare programs provided to low-income women).
But, of course, even that rate is too high, and maternal and infant deaths are all too common in lower-income cities and states (NOLA being one major example). Our government can certainly do more to improve access to strong pre-natal care. I’m not an expert in U.S. domestic policy, so for more details I’ll refer you to our allies who work on this issue here in the U.S., including Planned Parenthood.
Why has the US government blocked its contributions? What can I do to bring awareness to this issue?
To answer the question by Anonymous - In the 1980s conservative members of Congress and the Reagan Administration blurred the work of UNFPA for political reasons and it has been a political football ever since - funded under Democrats and defunded under Republicans.
But, it's important to know that the vast majority of Americans - from conservatives to liberals - support the work of UNFPA.
The withholding of funds to UNFPA is done to appease a very small group of conservatives who do not support contraception. Many excuses are made, none of which hold water.
To best thing you can do is get involved with us. To start, visit our action center at www.americansforunfpa.org/take action.
Thanks!
Deni Robey, VP of Public Affairs
Earlier, Jenny posted a question about how to get involved if she doesn't have a lot of money and can't travel to DC.
I think this is clearly an important question to address, so we've just filmed a video response, and it will be posted as part of tomorrow's Videocast.
Look for it right back here at www.americansforunfpa.blogspot.com
Jesse,
Are there any champions of this issue in D.C? Are there Senators or Representatives that we can thank for their work on this issue and encourage to rally their colleagues?
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