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  • Title: Open letter to Pope John Paul II.
    Author: Sai F.
    Journal: Conscience; 1991; 12(5):8. PubMed ID: 12178850.
    Abstract:
    In an Open Letter to Pope John Paul II, written on World Population Day (July 11) 1991, Dr. Fred Sai, President of International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), called for a dialogue on voluntary family planning as a means of avoiding unwanted pregnancy. A half million women die each year from pregnancy-related causes--a death toll that could be dramatically reduced by universal access to low cost, effective contraception. Family planning further represents the best protection against abortion. The Catholic Church's vehement opposition to abortion and family planning methods other than periodic abstinence is in marked contrast to its support to human rights in other settings. The Church has supported struggles for economic ju stice in and among nations, sided with the poor, and advocated for transitions to democracy. At the same time, the family planning movement--which has as its overall objective the protection of the health and welfare of women, children, and families--is viewed by the Vatican as a vehicle for the enslavement rather than liberation of women. The opening of a sensitive dialogue between the Catholic Church and supporters of voluntary family planning could help couples make sound moral decisions about their families and contribute to saving the lives of millions of women, most of them poor.
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