Appropriating Women's Lives

Washington, DC - October 1, 2007

While today technically marks the first day of the government’s fiscal year, the budget is still tied up in Congress’s lengthy appropriations process. Looming over the new budget is the President’s threat to veto a number of appropriations bills because of disagreements over funding and policy issues. Among those issues he opposes are provisions in the State-Foreign Operation Appropriations (foreign assistance) bill that repeal the destructive Global Gag Rule and expand access to contraceptives in poor nations. Tragically, the President has vowed to veto the entire $34 billion foreign assistance bill— containing critical funding for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, humanitarian and peacekeeping programs in Darfur, and famine relief—because of these pro- family planning provisions.

For the first time in recent history, the House and Senate have united in support of the pragmatic "prevention first" policy that is favored by most Americans and backed by strong evidence. Both the House and the Senate have voted in favor of provisions that exempt contraceptives from the Global Gag Rule. Democrat and Republican Members of Congress on both sides of the abortion issue endorsed this common-sense measure, recognizing that it will save the lives of women and children and help reduce unintended pregnancies. The Senate went a step further and repealed the Gag Rule entirely.

Since the Global Gag Rule was reinstated by President Bush in 2001, shipments of U.S.-donated contraceptives have been stopped to 20 developing countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. In addition to this devastating impact, dozens of family planning providers in poor, developing nations have lost U.S. funding and technical assistance, forcing them to scale back services, lay off staff, and even close their clinics altogether.

The anti-Gag Rule provisions passed by Congress will bring relief to the tens of millions of poor women overseas who have been victimized by these draconian policies and who lack basic reproductive health care, including contraceptives. The President should sign these provisions into law rather than reward a small but influential group of anti-birth control extremists in his own party and jeopardize such an important bill. Mr. President, the choice is clear.

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.