Newsweek: Trump’s Contraceptive Cuts Will Make The World Poorer
Robert Walker, president of the Population Institute

“…[T]he Trump administration’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2018 would end America’s support for international family planning assistance. It has already terminated America’s support for the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA), which is a major supplier of contraceptives to women in the developing world. The termination of family planning assistance is President Trump’s idea of putting America first. But if America comes first, who comes last? The answer is women and children. When women in the developing world are denied access to birth control, maternal and child mortality rates rise. When they are unable to plan their families, their children are far more likely to be malnourished and far less likely to receive the education they need. Indeed, without family planning, families are far less likely to escape from severe poverty. … Congress, it is hoped, will reject Trump administration plans to slash funding for the State Department and international programs, including family planning. But as Congress prepares to pave the way for large tax cuts this fall, foreign assistance and other discretionary spending programs could face severe budget cuts” (6/29).