House Vote Narrowly Upholds Global Gag Rule; Jeffords Switch Alters Outlook For International Family Planning

Family planning supporters have vowed to continue to attempt to reverse the policy. Also, following Sen. James Jeffords's defection from the Republican party, the new Democratic majority in the Senate will have substantial new leverage to reverse the global gag rule this year.

As opponents of the global gag rule continue their effort to overturn the policy, now is an ideal opportunity to editorialize in support of international family planning assistance.

House Upholds Global Gag Rule

By narrowly passing the Hyde Amendment to uphold the global gag rule, the House of Representatives turned back a major threat to President Bush's first official act in office. The gag rule bans healthcare providers who receive 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 continued to characterize the policy as a ban on U.S. funding of abortion overseas, despite the fact that such funding has been expressly prohibited under federal law since 1973.

Opponents of the gag rule, led by Reps. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Nancy Johnson (R-CT), and Tom Lantos (D-CA), argued that the gag rule violates basic principles of free speech and medical ethics by forcing health care providers to remain silent in public political debates on abortion in their own countries while also requiring that they withhold potentially life-saving information about safe abortion from their patients.

Although family planning supporters were disappointed by the vote, they pointed out that the four-vote margin represents the closest vote on the gag rule since 1994. The vote saw 33 Republicans cross party lines to vote against the gag rule, including Reps. Johnny Isakson (GA), Jennifer Dunn (WA), Greg Walden (OR), Fred Upton (MI), Tom Davis (VA), Bill Thomas (CA), John Sweeney (NY), Kay Granger (TX), Dan Miller (FL), and Mark Foley (FL), who were all considered key undecided swing votes in the weeks prior to the vote. Freshmen Reps. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Mike Ross (D-AR) also voted to overturn the policy. Unfortunately, the Hyde Amendment was supported by 32 Democrats and a number of members who had previously opposed the gag rule, including Reps. David Hobson (R-OH), Greg Ganske (R-IA), Mike Doyle (D-PA), Paul Kanjorski (D-PA), John Murtha (D-PA), Robert Borski (D-PA), and Clay Shaw (R-FL).

Senate Power Shift Alters Outlook for Gag Rule, Family Planning

While it is unclear how the debate over international family planning and the global gag rule will proceed from this point, the defection of Sen. James Jeffords (I-VT) from the Republican party significantly strengthens the hand of family planning supporters. A clear majority, including Republicans and Democrats, already oppose the gag rule in the Senate. The change in leadership elevates Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD) to majority leader and Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE) to chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, a key committee on matters relating to international family planning. Both Sens. Daschle and Biden are considered supporters of family planning and have consistently opposed the gag rule. The global gag rule could emerge as a point of contention as Congress and President Bush work to finalize the details of the federal budget this summer, because the power shift in the Senate means that family planning supporters will be represented on any conference committees which convene during the budget process.

Indeed, Sen. Jeffords's decision may have far-reaching impacts on many issues, including the rumored appointment of John Klink to head the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration at the State Department. Mr. Klink is best known in diplomatic circles as a member of Holy See delegations to international conferences on population, the environment, and women (among others), where the Holy See has repeatedly stated its opposition to the use of modern contraception and to the use of condoms for HIV/AIDS prevention.

Family Planning Advocates Look Ahead to UN Session on HIV/AIDS

From June 25-27, world leaders will come together at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS. The UN session will aim to intensify international action to fight the epidemic and to mobilize the resources needed. Estimates are that over 36 million people are living with the HIV/AIDS virus. Over 25 million HIV-infected people live in Africa, where at least one adult in five is living with HIV/AIDS.

Family planning advocates are calling on UN members to ensure strong commitments to prevention of the spread of HIV, which must include increased financial and technical assistance for supplies, including male and female condoms and diagnostics, and for research on new prevention methods such as microbicides. Already, there is a shortfall of condoms for HIV/AIDS prevention, and it is growing. Experts conservatively project that the number of condoms needed annually in developing countries-almost all of them for HIV/AIDS prevention-will roughly triple over the period 2000-2015, from 3.35 billion to 9.90 billion condoms annually, for a cumulative total of more than 100 billion condoms.

Access to reproductive health services for adolescents is also emerging as a key point of contention, as more conservative delegations seek to restrict access for young people. Family planning advocates are also urging the UN to reiterate its support for an "integrated services" approach, whereby HIV/AIDS services are not isolated from other reproductive health services, including family planning and care in pregnancy and childbirth.

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.