September 17, 1999
Volume 1/ Number 18
Dear Friend and Colleague:
Since the 1960's, the United States has been funding so-called "voluntary family planning" programs around the world. Many of these programs have been "voluntary" in name only. Coercion, bribes, targets, and quotas have been rampant.
A new law, called the Tiahrt Amendment, for the first time defines what "voluntary" means with respect to family planning. It passed the US Congress with bipartisan support, and was signed into law on 22 October 1998. The Tiahrt Amendment rules out targets and quotas, experimental methods, bribes and sanctions, and mandates informed consent. But it must be enforced.
PRI's recent publication, Know Your Rights! Women, Family Planning and US Law, is an interactive publication designed to help end human rights abuses committed in the name of "family planning." Know Your Rights! has already been sent to over 4,000 recipients in the developing world.
I have attached it here, and would ask that you forward it to friends both here and abroad. With your help, we can end human rights violations in family planning programs.
Steven W. Mosher
President