Family Planning Center Visit Puts First Lady on the Spot

MEXICO CITY — It seemed to have all the makings of a feel-good event: a visit Tuesday by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton to a family planning center supported by U.S. funds in a hardscrabble Mexican neighborhood.

The only hitch: The United States has decided to ax funds for the center--something that has left its director incredulous.

“We don’t understand the U.S. policy of strengthening the border and then taking [away] money for family planning,” the director, Alfonso Lopez, complained to reporters accompanying the first lady. He explained that many migrants to the U.S. come from poor regions with fast-growing populations.

The moment appeared to be one of the most awkward during the first official trip by President Clinton to Mexico.

Mrs. Clinton was greeted warmly Tuesday by hundreds of local officials and women at the Mexican Family Planning Foundation, known as Mexfam. The visit was intended to demonstrate U.S. government support for family planning programs, according to a White House background paper. Mrs. Clinton watched a skit on sex education at the center, then gave a speech praising the program.

“I am also proud of the role that USAID has played in supporting Mexfam and your public health institutions,” she told the crowd.

Lopez said the United States Agency for International Development plans to cut funding next year. The center now receives more than $700,000--roughly 15% of its budget--from USAID. Most of the rest comes from international foundations; a small part comes from client fees.

Lopez added that the U.S. Embassy told him “not to touch this subject” of funding during Mrs. Clinton’s visit. He added, however, that he hoped the first lady’s tour of the center would “raise her interest.”

A USAID official traveling with Mrs. Clinton said the assistance is being phased out because Mexfam is becoming more successful in funding itself. “You attempt to create sustainability,” said the official, who asked not to be identified.

However, he acknowledged that congressional cutbacks in USAID’s budget are having an effect. “If we didn’t have constraints on our budget, the phase-out [of aid to the center] might be longer,” he said.