These US Abortion Restrictions Threaten Reproductive Health Everywhere

It’s imperative that advocates not limit their advocacy to the United States but expand it to countries around the world affected by US restrictions.

By Aruna Uprety, Nira Singh Shrestha, Astha Sharma, Giriraj Mani Pokharel and Sumesh Shiwakoty
Septe 23, 2022

The US Supreme Court’s recent decision overturning Roe v. Wade has sparked debate in the United States about how to protect reproductive freedom. President Biden proposed ending the Senate filibuster rule in order for Congress to pass legislation legalizing abortion rights, and he signed an executive order to “protect access to reproductive healthcare services.” In some states, legislators have enacted new laws that expanded abortion rights. However, what is missing in this debate is similar discourse and concrete actions by Democrats to protect reproductive rights not only in the United States but also in less-developed countries, which are directly affected by Republican attacks on US funding for reproductive health around the world.

Continued: https://www.thenation.com/article/world/global-abortion-access-helms-her-act/


South Africa – No Strings Attached: The Only Kind Of Health Care Aid We Want From The U.S.

By Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng
July 14, 2020   

Rose* traveled to three different health facilities in Gauteng province, in need of medical attention – she had already missed two periods, was uncertain if she was pregnant, and needed help right away. However, Rose left each clinic without a proper clinical examination, pregnancy confirmation, referral note, or even a proper medical history conversation. During one of these visits, she was sent away by a clerk, and during another, she was told the only nurse who performs abortions is on leave. But without access to proper care, Rose resorted to spending the little money she had on buying black market pills that promised a quick abortion, putting her at risk for hemorrhage, sepsis, and even death.

Continued: https://www.essence.com/op-ed/south-africa-health-care-during-trump-presidency/


The Effects of the Global Gag Rule Are Being Felt Everywhere

The Effects of the Global Gag Rule Are Being Felt Everywhere

Jul 2, 2018
Melvine Ouyo & Alexa Henderson

In Kenya, desperate pregnant women and girls who lack access to safe medical care because of funding cuts under Trump’s global gag rule are turning to "curtain clinics” to terminate their pregnancies. Such clinics are run by people who aren’t nurses or doctors.

The fallout of Trump’s global gag rule is upon us. Not a single week passes in Kenya without devastating media reports documenting how patients are going without needed reproductive health care and medical intervention thanks to the U.S. policy restricting funds to international clinics that discuss pregnancy termination regardless of the circumstance. The global gag rule is forcing health providers to either ignore that challenge or lose desperately needed aid for other services.

Continued: https://rewire.news/article/2018/07/02/effects-global-gag-rule-felt-everywhere/


Trump-Pence Administration’s Neocolonial Assault on Reproductive Freedom Is Killing African Women and Girls

Trump-Pence Administration’s Neocolonial Assault on Reproductive Freedom Is Killing African Women and Girls
Jan 23, 2018
Hayley Farless

As advocates and researchers have seen, it is African women and girls who are suffering because of the United States’ interference with reproductive autonomy globally.

Just three days after his inauguration, President Donald Trump issued a memorandum to reinstate and expand the “global gag rule,” a Reagan-era, anti-abortion, foreign policy directive, with the backing of Vice President Mike Pence. Because of this policy, any nongovernmental organization (NGO) outside of the United States that provides abortion procedures, participates in pro-choice advocacy, supplies information about abortion, or offers referrals to abortion providers has been forced to choose between forfeiting U.S. foreign assistance funding or ceasing to provide the basic reproductive health services that its patients need.

The global gag rule, also known as the “Mexico City Policy,” goes beyond just blocking U.S. funding for critical reproductive health services. A Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE) research report notes that this policy also restricts what groups receiving U.S. funds can do with money from all other sources; organizations must subject all their funds to the same restrictions or lose U.S. funding.

Continued: https://rewire.news/article/2018/01/23/trump-pence-administrations-neocolonial-assault-reproductive-freedom-killing-african-women-girls/


The global gag rule does nothing to protect life

The global gag rule does nothing to protect life
By Margaret Huang and Serra Sippel, opinion contributors
01/23/18

Nine years ago, the U.S. rescinded a cruel policy that denied life-saving health-care to thousands of people around the world. By repealing the Mexico City Policy (also known as the “global gag rule”), we paved the way for reproductive healthcare providers to access funds that had been withheld from them for years. With those dollars, providers gave their clients desperately needed care for themselves and their families — services that included contraceptives, maternal care, and HIV/AIDS prevention.

There was one thing that providers still could not do. By law since 1973, no organization or health care provider is allowed to use U.S. federal funds to pay for abortions as a method of family planning overseas. That’s not ideal, but with the gag rule rescinded, organizations that did provide abortions could still seek alternate funding for those services while using U.S. aid to provide other care to clients.

Continued: http://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/370345-the-global-gag-rule-does-nothing-to-protect-life


Why Aren’t American Women’s Rights Guaranteed by Law?

Why Aren’t American Women’s Rights Guaranteed by Law?
By Janet Benshoof and Serra Sippel
Aug 14, 2017

A fight is again brewing within the Democratic Party after they recently announced that they would fund candidates with anti-abortion stances.

Many American women are frustrated that they must continue fighting against legislatures that actively attack their rights.

Unlike in other countries, and despite what most Americans believe, robust anti-discrimination laws do not protect women in the United States.

Continued at source: Newsweek: http://www.newsweek.com/why-arent-american-womens-rights-guaranteed-law-649848