Organizations that support a woman's right to choose, have re-named the Mexico City Policy as the Global Gag Rule for the way it prevents non-governmental groups and foreign governments from using US aid for providing abortions or education on abortion issues and rights. The Policy dangerously silences women's health clinics and AIDS awareness organizations funded by the U.S. from discussing abortion on any level. Bush's actions have already affected nearly 430 organizations in 50 nations. By cutting funds, his administration places women's rights and health on the line; this decision also hurts America's foreign policy
as well as free speech.

Censoring Free Speech
The Mexico City Policy forces organizations that want to protect women's reproductive rights to choose between speaking out about abortion and related issues and receiving the vital financial aid from
the U.S. government. Janet Benshoof, President of the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy explains, "President Bush took away my right to speak because I support a position with which he disagrees: that access to safe and legal abortion is a human right of women worldwide. Yet groups that oppose the abortion rights are not censored. The Global Gag Rule violates fairness, freedom and democracy."1 These groups should not have to compromise their goals and voices in order to be properly funded. Bush's policy undermines the rights granted by the Constitution. If it was applied organizations providing abortion in the United States, the Policy would be a clear violation of people's democratic right to lobby Congress for funding on crucial issues. If these rights apply to Americans, why shouldn't they apply to people of other countries-- especially when they are interacting with the U.S.? Simply because this aid is going to foreign countries does not mean that America's democratic values should be forgotten. Foreign non-governmental agencies should not have to give up their right to free speech.

http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/409/context/archive

Denying Abortion as an Option is Anti-Family Planning

Although Bush wants to fund only those organizations that do not support or practice abortion with the intention that he will be empowering family planning programs, he will actually be hurting such initiatives. By denying financial assistance to certain groups, family planning will suffer as a whole. Local organizations want to be able to provide women with the options that are best for them, which in many cases might be abortion. In some communities there are few family planning organizations and they should not be forced by U.S. law to deny their patient's the advice or assistance they need. Abortion can not be a separate entity from family planning, as the Bush administration would like it to be. Already 430 organizations in over 50 nations have lost aid for their programs. The family planning that they can offer to local women will be constrained by either their inability to discuss or offer abortion or by their absence of U.S. funds. Family planning is essential in terms of educating communities about sexually transmitted diseases, such as HIV, providing contraception, teaching mother's how to reduce infant mortality and promoting healthy environments and decisions in general. Furthermore, better family planning will ultimately reduce the need for abortions. By cutting funds to certain organizations, the Bush administration is in fact, working against their own initiatives. Organizations that want to serve their communities should not be compromised and without vital funding, their family planning programs will be less successful.

Women's Health
The consequences of Bush's decision to cut funds are very serious in
light of women's health worldwide. Already, more than 75,000 women die
each year from unsafe abortions. Even more suffer from injuries and
complications during illegal attempts at aborting unwanted children.
Under the Global Gag Rule, the U.S. is denying women of the world
access to vital health-care. Janet Benshoof, president of the Center for
Reproductive Law and Policy, recently spoke out against the effects of
the Mexico City Policy on women's health. "Thousands of women will die
each year from illegal abortion because President Bush, who lost the
popular vote, needs to curry favor with the religious right. It is a
malicious affront to women to gag advocates for their health on the
anniversary of Roe vs. Wade." More often, the women who suffer from
Bush's policy are poor and without publicly funded programs, do not
have the opportunity to benefit from or receive instruction in family
planning. Health care should not be a privilege. The U.S. government
should not be jeopardizing the health or decision-making of foreign
women.

http://www.now.org/nnt/fall-98/repro.html

Footnotes

1. Osuna, Collette. "Bush's Rule Continues to Globally Gag."

2. CRLP Press. "Bush's Reinstatement of Global Gag Rule Will Strangle
CRLP's Efforts to Help Imprisoned, Injured and Dying Women Overseas."