[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 13 (Thursday, January 22, 2009)] [Senate] [Page S778] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] FAMILY PLANNING Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today many of our constituents are in town for the annual March for Life. They are expressing their strong concerns about an issue that has divided our Nation for decades: abortion. This issue divides legislatures. It divides churches and communities. It even divides families. Parents often disagree with their children. Two sisters or two brothers may see the issue differently. Even husbands and wives may not see eye to eye. And yet, the American people look to their elected leaders to come together and address the issue. My position on the fundamental issue is clear: abortion should be safe and legal, consistent with Roe v. Wade. A decision this personal is best left to a woman, her family, her doctor, and her conscience. But I don't think the issue ends there. We may never reach a consensus on abortion itself, but we can go beyond the divisions, acknowledge that women have a right to an abortion in America, and still work together to reduce the number of abortions. So I would like to take a step back and talk about some of the things we can do to prevent unwanted pregnancies, which is a goal I think all of us in this chamber share. Nearly half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned that is almost 3 million times a year that a woman and a man are confronted with the news that, contrary to their intentions, the woman is pregnant. We can make a greater effort to ensure that couples have access to the information and services they need to prevent unwanted pregnancies. First, we need to invest in comprehensive evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs. Nearly 1 million teen girls become pregnant each year, and it's time we focus on helping them prevent those pregnancies. Next, we need to ensure that women can afford contraception by expanding funding for the Title X family planning program, which provides a critical safety net that both improves women's health and saves taxpayers money. Low-income women are four times more likely to have unintended pregnancies than their higher-income peers. Democrats have proposed that women who are entitled to Medicaid-funded labor and delivery also be given access to family planning services through the Medicaid program. If we will cover the childbirth, why would we not cover the prevention services that would help avoid the unintended pregnancy? And for women with private health insurance, we must ensure that FDA- approved prescription contraceptives are covered to the same extent as other prescription drugs and devices. If we want women and men to take the responsible steps to avoid unintended pregnancies, we must give them access to the family planning options that will empower them to do so. Ensuring that contraceptive coverage is a covered service in our health plans is a commonsense way to address that issue. It is also time to restore common sense in other areas. Women must have timely and medically accurate information about another alternative: emergency contraception. This product is FDA approved, and can prevent pregnancy and thus the need for abortion. Greater awareness of it could substantially reduce the staggering number of unintended pregnancies. The facts are also on the side of lifting the so-called ``Mexico City'' policy that controls how family planning organizations in other countries may use their own funds. The global gag rule requires that, as a condition for receipt of U.S. funding, private and international organizations must agree not to use their own non-American funds to perform abortions, provide abortion counseling, or even lobby to make or keep abortion legal in their countries. By law, Federal funds cannot be used for abortions. Audits have demonstrated that, in the years when the Mexico City policy has been lifted, Federal funds have not been used for abortions. So this is not about abortion. This is about whether international family planning programs will be allowed the same rights of freedom of speech and action that domestic programs have. We should not be dictating what groups do with their own independent funds as a condition of receiving U.S. family planning funding. So often, the battle over abortion has been extended into unnecessary battles over contraception. But there are other policy areas where people who disagree over abortion should be able to come together. First, we need to support pregnant women when they find themselves in a difficult situation. We must work to ensure that they have access to health care both before and after the child is born; parenting programs; income support; nutrition assistance; and caring adoption alternatives. Finally, we must look beyond the immediate crises and work to address the underlying conditions that can affect a couple's response to an unplanned pregnancy. Affordable health care, secure jobs with good wages, expanded child care options, and improved educational assistance can make it easier for a couple to welcome a child into the family. These, again, are areas where we should be able to come together and make progress. ____________________