Silence on Abortion Equals Death

Silence on Abortion Equals Death

By SERRA SIPPEL
JAN. 24, 2017

In one of his first acts as president, Donald Trump introduced a ban on funding for any international organization that, anywhere in its health care programs, provides or even discusses abortions with patients, other than in cases of rape, incest or life endangerment.

Known as the global gag rule because it prevents talking with women about the procedure, this ban has been enforced and revoked by different administrations since it was first imposed in 1984. It has been illegal to fund abortions as a method of family planning with U.S. money since 1973, but the gag rule pulls other family planning funding — for H.I.V. prevention or contraception, for example — if an organization even advises a patient on where to get an abortion. President Trump’s rule goes even further, and pulls all global health assistance, including for programs that address infectious diseases like malaria, Zika and Ebola.

[continued at link]
Source, New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/24/opinion/silence-on-abortion-equals-death.html?mwrsm=Email&_r=0