Remove the Gag! PAI Condemns House Vote to Uphold the Global Gag Rule
Washington, D.C. - May 17, 2001Population Action International (PAI) today expressed strong disappointment following the House of Representatives’ 218-210 vote to uphold the global gag rule. The global gag rule, issued by President Bush on his first full day in office, bans recipients of U.S. international family planning assistance from providing abortions with their own funds, counseling women on abortion, or engaging in political speech on abortion. Supporters of the gag rule insisted that the policy barred the use of taxpayer dollars for abortion overseas, which in fact has been prohibited since 1973.
“The U.S. has not funded abortion either overseas or here at home for over 30 years,” said Amy Coen, President of PAI. “Those who say this was a vote over funding of abortion overseas are being deceitful. Today the House voted against free speech and democracy.”
The global gag rule is anti-family planning, and in fact contributes to higher abortion rates. In any given community served by a family planning provider who loses funds under the global gag rule, there is no reason to think that a comparable provider will suddenly appear to fill the gap. Also, abortion providers who lose family planning funds will be less able to provide contraception, leading to more repeat abortions. The result of these cuts will be lost access to family planning in those communities, contributing to higher rates of unintended pregnancies, maternal death, and abortion.
The global gag rule also forces family planning providers to withhold potentially life-saving information about safe abortion. More than 70,000 women worldwide die each year from botched abortions, a number that could go higher as a result of the Bush gag rule. Finally the global gag rule forces family planning providers to give up their free speech rights by promising not to engage in political advocacy on abortion, a restriction that would be unconstitutional if imposed on Americans.
“Today, President Bush narrowly avoided a major repudiation by members of his own party,” said Coen. “The gag rule is an absolutely indefensible policy, and it’s time for President Bush to repeal the global gag rule.”
The issue now heads to the Senate, where a clear majority opposes the global gag rule, including at least five Republicans. A Newsweek poll showed that a majority of the American people disapprove of the gag rule. The European Union immediately blasted the gag rule and is considering increasing assistance for international family planning to “fill the decency gap.” More than 75 newspapers across the country have condemned the order (just five have supported it). Even Secretary of State Colin Powell and EPA Administrator Christie Whitman are on record in opposition to the gag rule.
Population Action International (PAI) works to improve individual well-being and preserve global resources by mobilizing political and financial support for population, family planning and reproductive health policies and programs.
