Pro-Choice President Obama Repeals the Global Gag Rule
Executive order will provide critical health services for world’s impoverished women SEATTLE – In one of his first acts in office, President Barack Obama signed an executive order today repealing the Global Gag Rule. The rule, signed by former President George W. Bush on his first day in office, prohibited U.S. foreign aid from going to international family planning organizations and health centers that provide so much as information about abortion care. “By repealing this cruel and ideologically-driven rule, President Obama has extended a much-needed helping hand to the world’s poorest women,” said Karen Cooper, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Washington. “We thank the President for acting so quickly on this issue; it is encouraging to see the new administration prioritize women’s health.” The Global Gag rule has caused countless unintended pregnancies, the spread of HIV and other STDS, and all too many child and maternal deaths. Throughout the 2008 presidential campaign, President Obama pledged his support for women’s reproductive rights. In his first pro-choice action, Obama has shown he intends to follow through with his campaign promises. NARAL Pro-Choice Washington will mobilize its statewide network of members and activists to lobby the new President and Congress to enact other pro-choice measures, like repealing the ineffective Title V federal abstinence-only funding, increasing Title X family planning funding, and reversing the Bush Administration’s 11th hour Health and Human Services rule that expands the right of conscience for health care workers to permit them to refuse to provide any kind of medical care – even contraception – for any reason. “We have many opportunities to expand access to women’s health care under the Obama Administration,” Cooper said. “It is a welcome change to the systematic erosion of women’s rights under Bush.” NARAL Pro-Choice Washington is the leading grassroots pro-choice advocacy organization in Washington State. NARAL Pro-Choice Washington works to protect every woman’s right to access the full range of reproductive health options, including preventing unintended pregnancy, bearing healthy children, and choosing legal abortion. NARAL Pro-Choice Washington is the state affiliate of NARAL Pro-Choice America. ###
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