Schakowsky blasts "cruel and heartless attack" on the U.N. Population Fund

Today, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky issued the following statement after the Trump administration announced its decision to cut off funding for the United Nations Population Fund:

“Once again, the Trump Administration has demonstrated a blatant disregard for women’s health care, economic well-being, and right to self-determination. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) provides care to women around the world, often providing a lifeline for women living in some of the world’s most desperate circumstances, like refugee camps and conflict zones.

“Every day, about 500 women and girls die from childbirth and pregnancy in areas affected by conflict or natural disaster. That is where the UNFPA does its work.

“At the Za’atri Refugee Camp in Jordan, home to more than 120,000 refugees mainly from Syria, UNFPA runs two reproductive health clinics which have helped to safely deliver 7,100 babies to women living at the camp without a single maternal death. These clinics see more than 200 patients every week and already struggle to meet the growing needs of women and girls living at the Za’atri Camp.

“UNFPA also provides Clean Delivery Kits to pregnant women fleeing their homes due to conflict, intense hardship, or natural disasters. Those women are often forced to give birth in the most dire of circumstances, and the Clean Delivery Kit provides them with the most basic essentials – including a tarp, a blanket for their baby, a razor blade, and a bar of soap – to increase their chances of safely delivering their baby while living in unsanitary and often dangerous places.

“These are the programs that President Trump and his administration are slashing. This cruel and heartless attack is just the latest in a long string of actions that the Trump administration has taken to roll back women’s rights in our country and around the world. I hope that Congress will reject President Trump’s anti-woman agenda.”