|
"It is clear that the
provisions of the Mexico City
Policy are unnecessarily broad and unwarranted under current law, and for the
past eight years, they have undermined efforts to promote safe and effective voluntary
family planning in developing countries. For these reasons, it is right for us
to rescind this policy and restore critical efforts to protect and empower women
and promote global economic development."
President Obama, January 24, 2009
What is the Global Gag Rule?
The Global Gag Rule denies family planning funds to any foreign
nongovernmental organization that uses its own (non-U.S.) money to
provide legal abortion services or counseling, gives referrals on safe
abortion options, provides facts about the consequences of unsafe
abortion, or participates in public debate, no matter how informal,
that might improve access to safe services. The Gag Rule does not,
however, prohibit speech against abortion. The policy applies even if
abortion is permitted by local laws, and even if organizations use
non-U.S. money for any of the activities listed above.
For example
- Organizations cannot do any research to determine how many
women die or are injured as a result of unsafe abortion in their
countries, and cannot publicize those statistics.
- Even if
abortion is legal (as it is in most countries in the world under
certain circumstances), organizations are prohibited from giving women
information about where they might obtain a safe, legal procedure.
- An
organization that receives any funds from the United States-which is
the largest bilateral donor in many countries-faces what one local
leader calls "Sophie's Choice": The group must either knowingly
withhold information and services from often desperate women, or risk
losing what is often the bulk of its funding.
 |
| Women
from 59 countries gathered in front of the White House to protest the
Global Gag Rule during the April 2004 March for Women's Lives in
Washington, D.C. |
The Good News First
Understanding the negative implications of the Global Gag Rule including
that it stands in the way of efficient use of financial resources, President
Obama rescinded the harmful policy on January
23, 2009. Family planning assistance can
now go to the organizations best qualified and stationed to provide these basic
health care needs.
We will all need to work together to ensure that this misguided policy does not get reinstated.
We can no longer allow this policy to be used to restrict women's access
to these basic health services and to violate free speech. We need to pass a
legislative repeal so that the Global Gag Rule cannot be reinstated with the
stroke of a pen.
For example, just after that President rescinded the rule, some in the Senate tried to reinstate it – but fortunately that attempt was rejected. As Congress and the Administration work over the next two years on overall reform of US foreign assistance, we will need to work to ensure that the global gag rule cannot be an arbitrary presidential policy again
by getting the language from Representative Nita Lowey and Senator
Barbara Boxer's Global Democracy Promotion Act passed into law.
On July 9, 2009, Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced an amendment to a funding bill that would permanently repeal the Global Gag Rule. In this first step of the policy process, the amendment was passed with bipartisan support by the Committee by a vote of 17 – 11. On September 16, 2009, IWHC and 35 other NGO's sent a letter to each member of the United States Senate in support of the
Lautenberg Amendment. Click here to download the letter in PDF form. Unfortunately, the Senate did not finalize action on the bill, which then kept
it from being retained in the final omnibus appropriations bill.
This
year we are trying again. IWHC is working
with a coalition of U.S.
and internationally based organizations calling for Congress to permanently
repeal the Global Gag Rule. On April 16, 2010, a letter signed by almost 300 organizations throughout
the world went to Congressional leadership urging action on the provisions in
the Global Democracy Promotion Act by including it in the FY2011 State Foreign
Operations appropriations bill. Thirty-five Senators wrote a letter (click here to download a PDF) urging Committee leadership urging action to permanently repeal the Global Gag Rule. On July 29, 2010, the same amendment that was offered last year by Senators Lautenberg and Leahy passed with bipartisan support by a vote of 19 – 11. This is only the first step in the process, but we are thrilled with this critical first step forward and applaud Senator Lautenberg and other supporters on the Committee for their leadership in protecting and promoting the health and rights of women and young people.
A Short History of a Long Debate
In 1984 President Ronald Reagan imposed the Global Gag Rule (GGR)
on USAID funds. The policy is also known as the "Mexico City Policy"
because it was announced by the Administration at an international
population conference in Mexico.
On his first day in office in 1993, President Bill Clinton lifted the
restrictions, though under a Republican controlled Congress did sign
the GGR into law for one year - the first and only time the policy has
been law. President George W. Bush gave an early indication of his
Administration's policies toward women in the developing world when he
reinstated the Gag Rule on the first full day of his presidency in
2001. Subsequently, President Bush tried to extend the gag rule's reach
by attaching it to the Global HIV/AIDS Act, but public outcry forced
the Administration to back down, citing a desire to keep global
HIV/AIDS funds separate from "abortion politics." The President then
issued an executive order in August 2003 that expanded the Gag Rule to
include organizations receiving money through the U.S. Department of
State. These funds go to groups serving some of the most vulnerable
women in the world: refugees and migrants displaced by war and civil
unrest, who are often the victims of rape and sexual violence.
The Truth about the Global Gag Rule
Opponents of abortion claim that the Gag Rule merely prevents U.S.
support for abortion overseas-but using U.S. tax dollars to fund
abortions overseas has been illegal since 1973 under the so-called
Helms amendment. Thus, in practice, the Global Gag Rule primarily
impacts comprehensive reproductive health services. It does nothing to
reduce the incidence of abortion, because it does nothing to reduce the
incidence of unwanted pregnancy. Quite the opposite, the funding ban
forces clinics that offer women access to contraceptives and vital
health services-often the only existing clinics in underserved areas of
countries with weak public health systems-to cut back their services or
even, in some cases, to close. It thus denies women access to
contraception, counseling, referrals, and accurate health information,
causing more unwanted pregnancies, more unsafe abortions, and arguably,
more deaths. In addition, it reflects the Bush administration's
willingness to let ideology trump sound public health policy.
The Global Gag Rule’s Impact on Free Speech
The Global Gag
Rule shows a willingness to impose restrictions on foreign
organizations and withhold information and services from foreign women
that would be considered unacceptable, and, in some cases, would be
illegal in the United States. The Global Gag Rule is an attack on free
speech and is in direct conflict with the Bush administration's
frequently stated commitment to promoting democratic values and civil
society institutions overseas.
The Global Gag Rule's Impact on HIV Prevention
Comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services should include HIV Prevention
because of the synergistic work of protecting sexual and reproductive
rights and preventing the spread of HIV. Funding restrictions, such as
the Global Gag Rule, place onerous limitations on organizations'
flexibility to maximize the support from different funding streams to
improve reproductive health services. The Gag Rule also makes
collaborations between PEPFAR-funded programs and those funded by
bilateral family planning difficult or impossible further limiting
access to reproductive and sexual healthcare.
Overturning the Global Gag Rule
Together with a number of organizations, IWHC is working to build
support for congressional efforts to overturn the Global Gag Rule, and
to block further expansion. In early 2003, we were part of the
successful mobilization to thwart the Bush administration's attempts to
attach it to the $15-billion Global HIV/AIDS Act.
Even with President Obama rescinding the Global Gag Rule, more needs to be
done to end the flip flop flip flop between policies of different administrations. In the past, women health and rights
advocates in Congress have worked to pass a bill - the Global Democracy
Promotion Act - which would prohibit putting restrictions on foreign
organizations that would be unconstitutional to impose on US
organizations. IWHC will continue to
work with Congress to enact into law this kind of provision to put an end to
this harmful, arbitrary policy.
What You Can Do>>
What You Can Do>>
Take action.
Call your Senators and Representative and ask them to cosponsor the Global Democracy Promotion Act (H.R. 4879 & S. 311). Tell them we all need to work together to ensure that this misguided policy does not get reinstated and that we can no longer allow this policy to be used to restrict women's access to these basic health services and to violate free speech.
Donate to IWHC.
IWHC is one of the few donors worldwide providing support for
organizations that raise awareness about the consequences of unsafe
abortion and work to expand access to safe services. By supporting us,
you will strengthen our support for these groups. Click here to make a contribution.
Spread the word. You can email this page to a friend by clicking on the link in the top right corner.
Links of Interest
Access Denied: U.S. Restrictions on International Family Planning
"Access Denied" is a project documenting the ground-level impact of the
Global Gag Rule. The "Access Denied" website provides background on the
Global Gag Rule and compiles testimonies, video clips, and case studies
of its impact on women living in Kenya, Ethiopia, Romania, and
Zambia. Available online here.
Breaking the Silence: The Global Gag Rule’s Impact on Unsafe Abortion
Prepared by the Center for Reproductive Rights, "Breaking the Silence"
distills the results of over 100 interviews conducted in Ethiopia,
Kenya, Peru, and Uganda, identifying eight hardships that the gag rule
inflicts on local advocates struggling to respond to the daily tragedy
of unsafe abortion. Available online here.
Reports from the “Action to Reduce Maternal Mortality in Africa” Regional Consultation on Unsafe Abortion
A forceful condemnation of the Global Gag Rule was signed by 112
participants in a multidisciplinary consultation on maternal mortality
and unsafe abortion held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in March
2003. Background is available on the Ipas website here.
What You Need To Know About the Global Gag Rule Restrictions on U.S. Family Planning Assistance
Report from Population Action International, available online here.
The Global Gag Rule Threatens International Family Planning Programs
Article by Susan A. Cohen from the Guttmacher Report, published by the Guttmacher Institute, available online here.
This factsheet last updated in June 2010. For more information, contact us at 212-979-8500 or communications@iwhc.org.
|
