The solutions to the world's most pressing problems are to be found in the lessons that women have to teach us. It's in our history, our myriad perspectives and experiences. By helping to give the global community of women a voice, we can bring the world together in the service of our common humanity. And also because it speaks to our collective need to think of ourselves as firmly connected to this world we share and to one another.
Every life affects all life.
And sexuality, of course, is part of the human condition globally. I want to talk about those common connections, and how we can take advantage of them to overcome barriers to reproductive health care facing women in the U.S. and abroad. One of the things I like best about working in reproductive health issues is that they are simultaneously both global and so very profoundly individual. I'll start with one women's experience. I met Maria during one of my first trips to Mexico to visit a family planning program there.