End the Global Gag Rule for good and increase funding for family planning!
by Jaime-Alexis | August 20, 2009 at 4:52 PM
Two important issues for women around the world are coming before Congress this September: a permanent repeal of the Global Gag Rule and an increase for family planning funding. Both will be part of the FY2010 budget that will be voted on in mid-September.
First instated by President Ronald Reagan, the Global Gag Rule is a harmful policy that prohibits US family planning assistance to foreign NGOs that provide abortion-related information or services, even if these services are legal in their own countries and are funded with their own money. Since the 1980s it has been the focus of an ongoing game of political ping pong: President Clinton repealed the Global Gag Rule, President Bush reinstated it, and in January 2009, President Obama once again rescinded it. You can help make the Global Gag Rule history—permanently—by signing Pathfinder International's petition to United States Senators.
The second issue is an increase in funding for family planning. More than 200 million women lack access to contraceptives, yet support for family planning has not kept pace with worldwide need. Help urge Congress to pass an increase in funding for these critical services. You can help make a difference in the lives of millions of women by signing our petition today.
