Minnesota Meeting: Robin Chandler Duke - Confronting the World Population Crisis

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Robin Duke, national co-chair of the Populations Crisis Committee and a consultant to the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, speaking at Minnesota Meeting. Duke addressed the subject of global population. Duke is known for her long-standing interest in the problems of underdeveloped nations, especially in the area of women's health and family planning. She has made surveys of population programs in Bangladesh, India, Japan, Bolivia, El Salvador and Mexico. After speech, Duke answered audience questions. Minnesota Meeting is a non-profit corporation which hosts a wide range of public speakers. It is managed by the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.

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I'm delighted to be here and I'm particularly like cuz I have a lot of nice friends and Minnesota and it always gives me enormous pleasure to to come out here. I travel with China to with a few minnesotans who hears a day Wheelock Whitney and my McMillan and Cargill and Irene. We were all together on a wonderful trip where we did a little family planning work. And Holland mentioned my husband who was chief of protocol and indeed. I did try to help him and since Holland brought a protocol. I thought you might be amused at though. I had some some success. I didn't have much with a very distinguished president Charles to go when my husband had to handle a good many aspects of the very sad funeral of our late President Kennedy. He was so hard-pressed to get Personnel to help because they were strewn all over the city working with finding to Terry's helping with a Congress and all the various groups. So my husband put me on the door of the White House to greet the foreign Chiefs of State who were coming and he said now Robin try every language, you know, so you can explain to them what they have to do and how they will walk down, Pennsylvania Avenue. So I went to the door and I did my job and when I saw a present to go alighting from his limousine, I went down the steps and put my hand out to greet him and he put his hat in it. So. Just want you to know. I knew my place I hung on to that hat and I gave it back to him. I never let him know I wasn't the hatchet girl. I'd like to quote another president. Who really was the inspiration for what we now see in the whole United States policy of population and family planning orchestration. It was President Eisenhower and over 20 years ago. He sent Bill Draper General Draper out with a blue ribbon commission and he said bill. Tell me what's happening to foreign aid. Tell me what's going on. And how are we using it? And is it constructive and is it working and Bill Draper came back with the findings of his Blue Ribbon commission and he said mr. President. What they need out. There is Family Planning and President Eisenhower at an extraordinary moment when people didn't discuss these matters sat down and talked about it, and I'm not going to quote him because I think it's important. He said once is President. I thought it said that birth control was not the business of our federal government. The facts changed my mind governments must act and private citizens cooperate urgently through voluntary means to secure this right for all people failure would limit the expectations of future generations to abject poverty and suffering and bring down upon all of us condemnation that President Eisenhower's successors shared his concern and in 1970 Congress authorized Federal support for Family Planning services, including prescription and non-prescription contraception. And it's really only in very recent years that the common sense of the need to deal with a population problem has been called into question. United Nations conference on world population in Mexico this summer How do United States delegation? Where the Mandate committed to the belief that free market economies will resolve the so-called population problem. Will this was an absolute hundred and eighty degree turn from us policy because over the last 26 years, we underscore the importance of the fundamental right of individuals and couples to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children. The world plan of action that was brought up in 1974 in Bucharest at the United Nations conference on population the very first of its kind they emphasized these goals and member nations were asked to help the underdeveloped countries to achieve some kind of population balance the poor nations of this planet add to their roles 1 million people every five days the developed Nations at 8 million a year. So you can see this extraordinary distinction. The poor countries have colossal population growth and they're the worst fed least educated and most susceptible to political exploitation. The pressure on Nash natural resources the Food Supplies and the employment opportunities is extraordinary. The global growth rate has declined by 17% between 1980 and 1984 the main contributor to this decline. What's the reduction in fertility by developing countries a direct result of the introduction of family planning in to their communities. Haven't gone to Bucharest with a hope of alleviating some of the crushing burden of overpopulation in the underdeveloped world and having come away from Bucharest with a mandate to help the world's poor the u.s. Sent a new message and a new team to the United Nations population conference in Mexico City and the message from the US was the population growth presented little Threat by itself and through a free market economy. We could in some way resolve the world's population problems. I asked him former Senator James Buckley New York if he thought a free market economy would keep a woman from getting pregnant. you didn't think I was very funny, but I really was quite serious because the truth is We are faced with very important decisions and you can't say to other nations. You must have a free market economy. When you made in Mexico City to discuss issues of population human fertility contraception and abortion. You have to deal with the nation's on the terms in the basis of their own sovereignty. You can't start saying you got to work it our way boys. You got to have the same kind of government we have In any case over the years though the policy in Mexico City on the part of the American delegation seem to hinge indicate a change. We have been supporting in this country strong and good programs of Family Planning and population. This year we raised the Appropriations in the foreign aid Administration 50 million dollars in the population field and you might be interested in knowing how some of this Aid is spent. A hundred million is in bilateral Aid through agencies like the United Nations fund for population. International Planned Parenthood Federation institutes like the Allen Group Maga Institute. They are the people who really Pioneer the pill we in the United States represent about 44% of the total population assistance provided by developed Nations to the underdeveloped world and the nature of this assistance which comes in various forms is basically what those recipient countries request. It is not the us or developed Nations telling them what they should have its with advice and counseling but they generally set down their own ground rules those things that will work for them and their culture and in their environment and it includes General healthcare for women and children. And as a matter of fact in Africa alone, the Planned Parenthood facilities are some of the only available Healthcare facilities in certain areas of that continent. So without Planned Parenthood many poor African women would really have nowhere to turn for health care for themselves or their children. So really the last thing that should be cut. In the lamentably under Finance population programs are Family Planning and contraceptive services in the final analysis in Mexico City. We got our act together. They wrangled over a lot of resolutions that had nothing to do with population and this does happen and you and conferences you're all familiar with that. But the over a hundred 140 Nations including the US produced a good declaration a reaffirmation of Bucharest and set out resolutions which were committed to strong population programs and they did touch on important issues regarding immigration in the status of women. It's now increasingly recognized that high birth rates impede the development process. It's really not a problem to deal with a developing nations about this issue. They want Family Planning programs. They are convinced. They should have them regardless of some of the cultural Hang-Ups, which I hope we can discuss later maybe in a. When we can have some questions from the floor but third world countries are hindered and international economic competition in a variety of ways. They have vast vast numbers of your letter has they have an unskilled and poverty-stricken individuals really poorly equipped to cope with the skill populations that are around them in the developed world. Most developing countries do not have any kind of the technology or Financial in human capital for what we regard and I world is the industrialized concept now attempts to enter International Market places and bring third world countries into some kind of competition is real. Hopeless and not something that can be done with any amount of eased furthermore access to today's export Market is restricted and particularly compared to the time when industrialization in Europe, for example, European countries had largely unhindered access to trade and readily available for an export Market including their colonies attainment of the resources needed to successfully compete in the international market place is severely hindered by rapid population growth rapidly growing population means the countries are really hard pressed to maintain for capital investment at current levels. The facts are today that there are four point eight million people on this planet and the facts are that we're not feeding them. And of course, I'm sure all of you or conscious and had watched every night on your TV the hunger and starvation in Ethiopia and recognized. These are the some of the people in one area of our planet under the worst possible pressure in distress the World Health Organization estimates that in 1983 in developing countries, 145 million or 42% of all children under five or affected by malnutrition. Another fact is we can't house these people 1/4 of the world's families live in makeshift shelters. I remember seeing these people when my husband was in Bastrop Morocco. I've seen them on the hillsides of Caracas, Venezuela. In Brazil almost in all the underdeveloped nations of the world 1 billion people lack clean drinking water, which most of us take for granted Too Big Without basic sanitary facilities half of the world's Urban dwellers live in what they call Shanty towns or beat on vehicles or whatever they call them and whatever language and they're doubling in population every 5 to 10 years. The other critical fact is that the Earth was sources are not sustaining the onset of these increases in population. soil deterioration claims in area of cropland the size of the state of Maine every year 50 acres of forest cut down somewhere every minute. I know an Indian loan. This is the only fuel they have to prepare their meals and have any comforter warmth by wood and they are constantly attacking their Forest land. We can also seem to keep these people healthy one and ten children born in poor countries dies before their first birthday. Only one child and five is ever immunized and every year 14 million children under the age of 5 die from malnutrition and infection. another fact It will certainly alarm all of you who haven't enthusiasm for this marvelous Hubert. Humphrey Institute is we just can't educate these children 29% of the world's population are illiterate and in the African continent 59%. Almost 70% of those who cannot read or write. I'm sorry to tell you are female. And these are the women who raised the children and nurture them before they reach the chance for an opportunity for school. The other shattering fact is that we're growing by 82 million people every year. Unless this rate slows down. We will be 6 billion in about the next 15 years. And what are we to do with six billion people when we are making enormous strides in health, even with all these ghastly facts I put before you and I put them before you because they're important to remember in the face of what we hope and expect and dream for for our children and our grandchildren who will have to cope with this problem. Third world countries are the few could future Marketplace. Of the developed Nations and in our own self-interest we must look out to those Nations to do what we can to relieve the pressure is on them. And Shirley education is fundamental and education regarding their health is absolutely basic. Another interesting study reveals, but the end of the next two decades 700 million jobs will have to be created to provide for the onset of this increase of population. And as we know we're having enough trouble providing jobs in the developed world. We are so mechanized we are so Computerized that we are talkin about a four-day Work Week. Where are we going to find 700 million jobs, that's more jobs than currently exists in all the industrialized countries combined. If you compare a country like Kenya was has the highest growth rate of any country of the world and this usually surprises people it happens to be true in the UK. Let's just take them as a comparison and it's interesting their labor force is growing by 32% compared to the UK 0.4. Therefore Keenum is fun eight times as many new jobs per million population is Britain and Kenya has only about one-twentieth of the GNP per capita resources available. Now I'm not telling you the reduction in birth rates will solve all our economic problems, but lower fertility will have an immediate and long-term economic advantage and is therefore one of the critical and vital. An important issues for the developing world just so you really aren't load into any dream sequences. I can just throw at you that with our so-called lack of exploding population problems in the United States every day in the United States. They were 2400 teenage pregnancy. This is our problem. This is another whole set of situations to be dealt with by organizations within the US. This is not an exploding population problem. This is a problem serious difficult complicated and one that we must deal with And the reason for Mexico's conference, I'm sure you could say is quite apparent the facts and figures. I've given you by the way or studies. From reputable organizations like the unfpa like the good marker Institute like the population Council. And in the city where we met Mexico City where they're fifteen million people. Where it's almost a city Beyond Human Experience something we've never known before if this continuing growth in Mexico City continues, we will see obviously the kind of exploitation politically that again is dangerous and serious south of our border. If you have no Health, you have no housing. You have no job or education your highly vulnerable. It seems to any kind of political manipulation. And about 57% of the population in the developed world is under 25 years. So they are all in their reproductive ages. They need education. They need information when you talk about 800 million people who cannot read or write and if this trend continues 50% of the adult population in Africa South Asia or the Middle East or Elizabeth? And again, this means is I told you 70% of that group are female and they are the mothers who have the direct influence on the children. Those are the women who have no education and very few prospects for any education. I'm on the board of World Wildlife and we periodically reach out into the whole population issue as it affects the environment as we think about it in terms of our ecosystem and recently I read a study that was done by World Wildlife and relates quite profoundly to what we're doing in the population for you. But it also is a very unsettling and there. Are you alarming study about 500,000 different species of animals and plants silently drop from the chain of life. By the year 2000 this is their prediction. This is they say primarily due to human encroachment. Now the biological systems were support life on Earth are without question subject over-exploitation as a consequence of overpopulation. There's very little doubt about this. The productive capacity has been compared where ecological systems are very fragile. You see this In the rainforest in Brazil, and you see apparently the effects of the reduction of those rainforest on the whole climate of this hemisphere. all of these things that I tell you and I don't mean to be so gloomy Socrates said know thyself and I think Griffin said if I knew myself I'd run away. It's it's it's this is tough there a food deficits. There are what seven countries in the world that are exporters of gray out of 190 of the world's Nations. 7 countries can produce and Export grain a newspaper. Warren asked me today. Why is it you you make such a gloomy position because couldn't we feed the world? Well realistically there a lot of things we could do. And indeed we could find the side of the Himalaya if we set our mind to it, but we're not doing it. And so we have few exporters of grain and huge consumptions needed and political pressures that are such that when we ship the grain to Southern Chad it sits on a rail on when the sahil people were starving because there was a Civil War in Chad and the north wouldn't let the South deliver the Grange we're seeing the same situation in Ethiopia. Now, we're we're not sing the food moved quickly enough. I saw it in Calcutta during the Bangladesh War when we got the supplies into the airport. All of the medications much of the food and they told me they couldn't get it through because they didn't have the proper documents for the authorities at the airport. And I said what what sort of documents something from the government know what we did we just typed up something on Arlo right across typewriter went down the airport and said gentlemen, you're the documents. I want that food. I want that that's supply of medication. They gave it to us you get into these absurd situations where logistical problems slow it down or we're in fact serious political problems do but I presented all these pictures to you only because As President Eisenhower said it's really it's a tough subject. And I don't even want to talk about all these personal issues. The fact remains ladies and gentlemen human fertility is critical vital we must deal with it. We must talk about all these issues when I delegation went to Mexico City those of us who worked in the field for years are used to talkin about sterilization contraception and abortion in sensible constructive and intelligent ways. We met a good deal of resistance not from the rest of the members of those delegations who already were convinced that there were problems that needed to be met and resolved. If you want to resolve the problem of abortion. The best way I can think of is to see that Family Planning is out there and that it's available to everybody where the return of the United States or what you're talkin about the whole world community. Educate women, they must be allowed to know about this. They must understand the importance of it young people must understand the responsibilities attached to it. And so I think it is important to stress that both domestically where we have our own particular set of problems. But in the world Community, we should take a more sophisticated and honest approach to a basic and fundamental issue. It's pretty unsettling to go to a conference as we did in Mexico and find that the Ambassador. It was paid by your taxes. And he's called the ambassador of population in the state department where he has for the last three years been having population problems was not sent to Mexico City. He was not there to Mexico City because he's a population man and he was going to talk that if she knew he wasn't going to talk free market economies well happily. We got past the worst of some of our own domestic problems, which found their way into the whole discussion in Mexico City. And we were able to reach all the other delegations with some rather positive and rather important decisions regarding US policy and US Congress from the outset has been supportive and we have continued to get their support for strong policies in our admission. And four important and necessary and financial assistance for those who need Family Planning clinics and projects around the world. If you were born in 1930, first of all, you're awfully lucky. You're a lot younger than I am. Then there was some 2.1 billion people on the Earth and you're now witnessing a tripling of population growth by the end of this Century using the us as a yardstick. Our population will double in a hundred years. Asia on the other hand will double in 38 years Latin America in 30 years and Africa in 24 years. Social and economic progress especially when it improves the status of women through more education and jobs increases motivation for smaller families. However, this man will not translate into the use of contraception unless contraceptives are made available many developing countries such as Indonesia Mexico Thailand and Colombia have shown that organized Family Planning programs Ken by satisfying the substantial demand for Family Programs. Bring about dramatic decreases in birth rates. Even with her only modest changes in Social and economic progress. You still will see dramatic changes in short the single most effective measure, which can bring down. Birth rate is Family Planning services. Currently outside of China about 21% of eligible couples are using contraception. In about 1.1 billion for year is spent on Family Planning population assistance now makes up a very small proportion of foreign aid. However Development assistance from all donor governments totals about 37 been in a year or $10 per third-world person only $0.14 out of every $10 of foreign aid from the US goes to population work in my view. That's a very small increase in development assistance for population. And I would hope that we would increase more and more and give as much support as possible. Both thinking about this in your own States and think about what your legislators do just remember that if it's $0.14 out of every $10. It isn't really very much. There's reason for optimism. There are third world countries doing rather extraordinary things being very courageous taking programs out into the rural areas. So I would say to you that though prospects as I present sound very gloomy. We are still working hard. Someone asked me today about the groups who are against us and in the US and have been highly vocal and Felton some of the domestic policy that we face every time we pull the country we get a very positive response that more than 70 to 75% of the country are in favor of Population policies are intelligent constructive and responsible and they are supportive and I'm sure that what we hear from a very small but organized minority is the reflection of a very limited view on a situation that should receive compassion and understanding and one that we should all address. And when I I think of Mexico City, I think of the wonderful Mark Twain story when he said, you know, when I was about 7 years old, I just thought my father was so embarrassing every time you open his mouth. I wanted to sleep and I was amazed when I got to be 21 how much my father had learned. Well, I just hope that Those that took the mandate to Mexico City there in a little bit from us about what we feel is one of the important issues in the future development of our planet. Thank you. Remind you that we have microphones set up and it's important to talk into the microphone when you asked the question because this is being broadcast live on radio message Duke. My name is filled out from Red Wing. I was reading one of those Sunday Tribune Sunday Minneapolis Sunday Tribune news stories yesterday about a kind of an annual report for and I think it was the world watch Institute and it said that in in Cuba they which is his setted Far and Away the best stuff population control record and Latin America the birth rate at about Ben have cut in half since Castro's revolution in 1959. I wondered if that's true it if you would talk about how it was brought about @mr, Jaffa, I hate to be associated with gastro, but on the other hand, it's true that in the Iron Curtain countries in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union and and now and Q but you see a falling birth rates and you see really all the facilities out there which I speak about and one of the reasons you see the falling birthrate is that most of those people for instance in the USSR? I'm not as familiar with how they live in Cuba but I am with you I saw the standard of living is so appalling their housing is so bad. They live on top of each other this year kitchens and bathrooms with other families. They can only be alone when they go to the park outside of their houses. And this is one of the reasons why you seen birth rates fall, it's very fundamental and there is a great fear is a matter of fact in the Soviet Union that the Russians will be outnumbered by the Muslims in the For the riches of the country now in Cuba it would seem to me that had pretty good ass access to health and and to all the information about Family Planning and they're very much like the Eastern European. I don't think that they're having what we call a happy lifestyle no matter what anybody exports in the way of propaganda. I would say that some of it has to do with just not feeling they can cope with with any more children in another words. It's a contradiction of what I've been talkin about truly because we are for families and happy families and healthy. We're just talking about having few and having them viable and well, is that help at all that answer is the best I can do. Is there another question? Because you here comes a gentleman. Yes, sir. Even given the honest disagreement among many regarding these matters. How do you think one can deal with a strong influence of the Catholic Church which holds to a theology that it is our moral duty to increase and multiply cells for the glory of God no matter what the Earthly consequences and which is currently represented by a most intelligent person who yet seems to have serious questions about the use of even the Rhythm method. Well in one of the most Catholic countries in South America Bolivia, 60% of all the women who are in the gynecological and obstetrical side of the hospital 60% of their to repair illegal abortions in El Salvador. I have exactly the same situation in the same set of figures. Those are both very Catholic countries educated Catholics use contraception that's been my experience as a practicing Catholic for many years and I feel that the in this area you your church may not endorse this but I think educated people have to decide between themselves husbands and wives how many children are going to have and that I believe is what most of them do and where they can't have access to the services that we have in the United States the poor women in poor countries resort to tragic measures in this is what we see. Yes. It's Get some a challenge to the church and it's very difficult this issue. And I think you you decide these issues between a husband and wife. I truly believe that that must be where you make the decision. Yes. Given the projections for the election tomorrow. What do you anticipate the policy of this government United States will be on family planning in the coming for years. well, if you look at what the Congress has already done this year on their recommendation of from 240 minute in the final Appropriations to an additional fifty. It's a reflection of a positive you we also have a very serious problem in Mexico City, which I didn't go into which is that they mr. Buckley and his delegation came and said in a fact the United States will not fund any organization if they use their private money for abortion services. And so this is created a huge problem unfpa managed to get around it Planned Parenthood has had a very difficult time on this issue and they're basically not people who do a lot of abortion work. They basically do family planning in counseling, I believe after tomorrow unless the Congress makeup changes quite radically and I'm not convinced tomorrow that well that your Congress will have pretty much the same attitude which is rather positive and supportive. I think we have some heavy water to go through if the court has changed and there are people in the high court who will be interested. Amending the Constitution and overturning the 1973 Supreme Court ruling making abortion legal that will create some very difficult problems. And I realize I'm in a state where you have a lot of opposition to legal abortion. It would seem to me it would be. Fine, if people could take the view that they would like to follow their own precepts, but that we could keep abortion legal and safe. It only impacts on for women women of money can do anything for women are subjected to all the worst aspects of these problems and my hope is the court doesn't change radically in its use I can't predict that but I don't think the Congress is going to change radically. I hope I'm right sir. My name is John Cartwright. My question is in China. Are they using economic incentives or penalties to help in Family Planning? If so, could you describe what China is doing? Well, I don't know that there would be yes better housing and your job is probably better if you do what the government wants and this is not certain either way we function or what we would recommend with the Chinese are looking down the face of a billion people and their problem is how do we feed our people? And so they've taken very strong and very punitive measures in a society where a male child is desirable. It's very hard on these family and they have said you can only have one child we can tell you when you can have that child and they have made a great deal of progress in this field because they certainly understand what they're facing down the road in terms of how they're going to feed people if they just let them continue reproducing so they do say if you have more than one child, you're going to lose your good housing or your job and they do take measures that we regard as improper. But they're doing it they say for the reasons that are very apparent to them that it's absolutely necessary and essential and you hear rumors of all kinds of things out of China, but I'll talk to minister of health and I know Evan and other ministers in the government and they say we feel our problem is so critical. These are the strong measures we must take are there anymore questions? Yes. Thank you for talking a little bit about China. I'm rather curious. What is the situation in India? How does it compare to the population growth in China? And what steps is India taking and also a lot of the food relief program that you hear about do they ever at the time with their Doling out food in these in these problem areas. Do they also set up population Clinic served birth control Clinics of any sort. Thank you. India has done a very great deal in the hybrid grain field and Norman Borlaug and George harrar who were some of the Pioneers the Green Revolution the very things they work for in Mexico in those those of agricultural stations are now being used in India, and there is an increase in Grain production in higher yields per acre. That's number one, which has been effective for the Indians the Indians also have some very strong and good family planning programs going. The late mrs. Gandhi son Institute of something Extraordinary Measures. Shall we say regarding male vasectomy and we're coercing men to have us ectomies by paying them. So many Rupees. Well that caused a terrible situation. She was obliged to resign if you recall this well now they gotten past that and they started all their family painting facilities up again with all the elimination of any kind of conversion and in certain states in India, they have very successful Family Planning programs and India's beginning to come to grips with this problem as well as with their food problem there an infinitely better shape now with the loss of of Madame Gandhi in this tragic assassination one wonders. Will they be able to keep an ongoing? program in the health department or will they decide that there will be other things that take priority and if they do they will then get this terrible pressure of people and be in a worse position than ever so we don't know what's going to happen until we just hope that that to her son will be able to take hold and continue her programs are wondering I'm curious as to if your opinion on what portion of those problems are caused by a lack of Education lack of access to family planning or just simply a difference in cultural values that that the education and the family planning access so it would have little or no impact on Weather in around country. I think there's such a proliferation of of all kinds of sexuality. Let's save and print media and TV in the movies and everywhere and we haven't while all this is going on plus the peer pressure on kids. We haven't provided them with the instruments of responsible sexuality. We won't put a federal ruling through for sex education the school system the sensible sound one and whether you like it or not, the truth is parents don't talk to their children on these issues. It is still very difficult very personal and very hard for people frequent need to talk to their children about their sexuality. They all talk about everything else. I even remember youngboy coming into the clinic and he in New York. This isn't a girl have become pregnant by him and I said, but couldn't you discuss this with your parents? And he said I couldn't bring up such a personal matter with my parents. Here we gotten a girl pregnant. So this is a terrible flaw, I think and in our capacity to understand how to deal with this we should be doing as good a job telling young people about the responsibilities that this entails and about human sexuality as we do telling him about what toothpaste to use and what Dance Band Fall Out Boy and all the rest of it. We don't do any of this. Do you realize that the pharmaceutical companies cannot advertise on television and radio pills or any kind of contraception? We're not trying to hustle and sell contraception, but we are saying wouldn't it be better to use contraception then to get pregnant and be a teenager a child having a child, but we are prepared to accept any of these more mature approaches, which would be Talkin developing programs that explain and discuss all of this and I I think most parents will say. Oh, well, I've talked to my children, but I want you to know almost all the young people we talked to in the country the come into our various clinics. They say their parents don't don't want to discuss this and I just think it's important that we feel more sophisticated about it. Yes, sir coming back to the countries particularly the Catholic countries the high population Catholic countries from your experience. What is the view taken by the Catholic hierarchy in those countries for this problem? The hierarchy or against us and the village priests are on our side because the hierarchy living in in Bogota in Caracas and you know, all the big cities is in the parish priests are in the rural villages with the poor women and when you walk out of a church, and it's very sad, but I've seen it many times when I decide there are little stand selling things various candles and holy cards, but there's also bottles and bottles of abortifacients. It's shocking it's tragic and you eat to avoid this very thing one must therefore bring in contraception and Family Planning, but that's what you face you face The Village priest seeing how tough it is on the four women who do a great deal of the following and run them pockets as well as bear the children in many cases and then you have to know the leadership for a little removed from this. So we just few we like to keep feeling we could sit down and talk and go through this and stop them back and forth ticket United States the accusations and they sort of fanaticism and the extremes and come together. If religion means everything to all of us. It means I would think love and caring about each other and that is what we're talking about when we're talking about these poor people. The ability to care enough to say they have a right to know and these poor women that I seen in Bolivia for example don't know anything but they are in their ignorance seeking the wrong things. So I think you've got this division also in the church right now. The Jesuits are having a little trouble in their independence and I'm no expert on any of this and my experience is only just encountering it. Is that going on in my work but we keep trying to work and we do try to work hard with the church. I feel it's very important. Are there any other questions where you've been a wonderful audience and I thank U Verry. Did you have a question? Yes, excuse me. I didn't know about the time just want to ask you about a thinking of the Pope and thinking of cultural components and education regarding birth control When I Was preparing the religion for Time Magazine at the time that this Pope was elected. And I remember that our intelligence from Rome was that there was no secret that this Pope was going after the third world and he approaches the third world in a way that is not an intellectual that is very much and it Cooks have a gut approach. If you will. It is very effective. I remember years ago stories coming out of India saying that the birth control posters that were being put up around the country were being that some people were looking at them but these families with two children and feeling very sorry for this couple that they only had two children and I wonder if and if the population control horses also, Are doing things on that kind of affront the psychological and cultural front or if it's a s'more of a cerebal education. It is very much and it is important and very much a concern of ours that everything we do is acceptable to the culture we're working in and what we do I want to assure you. It's not our going out there making a stamp on another culture another Society. We implore the indigenous people the parliamentarians in a given Nation the social workers to do these jobs for their own people. We just come in saying what the latest material is what the latest health care is how this can be implemented. It's up to you to take it to your people. So I hope you understand they work within their culture is and they are to go see any of the UN works this way private agencies. Do they come to us asking for things? We're glad to oblige, but we are never imposing on Their culture so that I think you must know even in your own foreign assistance, and I know Hollywood damn yacht US foreign assistance is it's what you want you tell us and naturally we want to advise you that this is this is there to choose from but we don't want him in any way offend you offend your culture or your people in anyway, thank you very much. I appreciate your attention.

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