Family Planning Provisions in United States
Legislative Vehicles and Family Planning-Related Provisions
This section provides a general background of legislative vehicles in the framework of the abortion and family planning-related provisions in U.S. foreign assistance.Many of the restrictions attached to U.S. funding of abortion and requirements relating to voluntary family planning programs abroad are included in foreign aid authorizations, appropriations, or both, and affect different types of foreign assistance. Some provisions have come to be known by the name of the lawmakers who introduced them (for example, the “Helms amendment”), while others are identified by the subjects they address (for example, “involuntary sterilization”).
Legislation that authorizes foreign aid establishes, continues, or modifies an agency or program for a fixed or indefinite period of time. The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA), as amended, is the cornerstone of permanent foreign aid authorization law [4]. The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is divided into several “parts” that authorize different types of foreign assistance, including development assistance (part I); military and security assistance (part II); general, administrative, and miscellaneous provisions (part III); the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative (part IV); and debt reduction for developing countries with tropical forests (part V). Congress has routinely amended the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 since 1961 and has authorized new programs in stand-alone acts, but it has not comprehensively reauthorized most programs in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 since 1985. Subsequent authorization bills have often stalled in the face of debates and disagreements on controversial issues (including abortion and family planning), a tight legislative calendar, or foreign policy disputes between Congress and the executive branch.
More Details about Legislative Vehicles
In the absence of the regular enactment of foreign aid authorizations, Congress has annually considered appropriations measures that set spending levels for nearly every foreign assistance account. In recent years, these measures have become increasingly significant for Congress in influencing how U.S. foreign aid is disbursed. Many of them have included family planning or abortion-related restrictions or requirements [5].
The links among the various requirements and restrictions, as well as their inclusion in different legislation, are complex and in some cases not immediately apparent. For example, some amendments that were already enacted in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, such as the Helms and Biden provisions, appear to be added to other foreign assistance-related legislation for emphasis [6]. In other cases, the provisions may have been added so that they apply to additional categories of foreign aid not covered under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Moreover, some restrictions and requirements stand on their own, while others seek to clarify and amend other existing restrictions. The Leahy amendment, for instance, defines the term “motivate” as written in the Helms amendment, while the Livingston amendment seeks to clarify prohibitions in the DeConcini amendment.
Note: Based on the Abortion and Family Planning-Related Provisions in U.S. Foreign Assistance Law and Policy Report.
Executive Branch Policies and Restrictions and Family Planning-Related Provisions
This subject covers the following topics in this American legal encyclopedia:Leahy Amendment (1994)
Resources
Notes and References
4 P.L. 87-195; 22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.
5 International family planning and abortion-related provisions can also be enacted as part of supplemental appropriations. For more information on foreign aid, see CRS Report R40213, Foreign Aid: An Introduction to U.S. Programs and Policy, by Curt Tarnoff and Marian L. Lawson, and CRS Report R40089, Foreign Assistance Act of 1961: Authorizations and Corresponding Appropriations, by Dianne E. Rennack and Susan G. Chesser.
6 The Senate’s FY2012 State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Committee Report alludes to this possibility: “The Committee does not continue to carry a general provision specifically regarding funding for abortions and involuntary sterilization (Section 7018 of P.L. 111-117), as all but the last sentence of that provision was restatement of permanent law (Section 104 (f) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961).” U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill, 2012, report to accompany S. 1601, 112th Cong., 1st sess., September 22, 2011, S.Rept. 112-85 (Washington: GPO, 2011), p. 32. Similar language was included in the Senate’s FY2011 Foreign Operations Appropriations Committee Report (S.Rept. 111-237, p. 36).