From: The KZPG Overpopulation News NetworkSubject: KZPG-.*-DoIt: Critical vote on Global Gag Rule - TOMORROW! From: Peter Belden Critical environmental vote this week on U.S. support for programs to slow rapid population growth. On Wednesday and Thursday of this week both the House and Senate will vote on amendments to the Foreign Operations Appropriations bills that try to dismantle the International Family Planning program. You may remember a similar vote in June during the authorization process. The Senate will vote on an amendment to re-instate the Mexico City Gag Rule that is designed to defund the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and any other family planning group which is involved with abortion even with their own private funds. The House may vote on a similar measure, and will also likely vote on an amendment by Rep. Paul of Texas, which would eliminate all funding for international family planning. This will be the first time the 105th Senate has voted on the Gag Rule and count looks very close. The Paul amendment will also be a crucial litmus test on who opposes all family planning. If enacted, the Gag Rule would deprive millions of the poorest women in the world of the family planning services they depend on to protect themselves from unintended pregnancy. This undermines our efforts in sustainable development and population stabilization. - Current law already ensures that no U.S. funds are used for abortion or abortion lobbying overseas. - The Gag Rule is anti Family Planning and therefore anti-environment. - Family Planning Prevents Abortion. IPPF is one of the only groups providing family planning in the former Soviet Union where unsafe abortion is all too common because women do not have access to family planning. The Gag Rule undermines the ability to prevent abortions in these areas that need it most. ACTION: Contact your 3 members of Congress (2 Senate and 1 House) and tell them to oppose the Mexico City Gag Rule on International Family Planning and that you view this as a critical environmental vote. Use whatever means works best for you: phone, fax or e-mail. The important point is to contact them now because the votes are soon. *******THE MESSAGE: Oppose the Mexico City Gag Rule and support International Family Planning and the Environment.******* Find the contact information for your member of congress at http://www.naral.org/cgi-bin/congress.pl?cf=naral/cong.cf ******************************************************************* * To discuss this issue further, please use one of the discussion * * lists, e.g. Talk or Forum-1. You can subscribe to them using * * the kzpg subscription form, see below. Thanks. -- kzpg * ******************************************************************* An archive of messages sent to this list is located at: http://www.iti.com/iti/kzpg/Archive/Broadcasts/Action/I/DoIt/ http://www.iti.com/iti/kzpg/Archive/Broadcasts/Action/US/DoIt/ ________________________________________________________________________ The KZPG Overpopulation News Network For subscription info. send email to KZPG-info@iti.com or visit http://www.iti.com/iti/kzpg/Archive/Broadcasts/Action/US/DoIt/ Editor: Howard Johnson . Equal time given for controversial issues. Views broadcast don't necessarily represent editor's. (Not affiliated with ZPG Inc.) - message sent by infoterra@cedar.univie.ac.at to signoff from the list, send an email to majordomo@cedar.univie.ac.at the message body should read unsubscribe infoterra your@email.address -