Jessica

Vozel

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January 26, 2009

Goodbye Global Gag Rule

U.S. presidents tend to make the most of their first days in office. The whole world is watching, after all, to see whether or not the newly elected world leader will make good on his (or her – someday) promises. After those “first 100 days,” the level of spectatorship will die down and some of the bigger, slower-to-solve problems will take precedence. And so, we might not continue to see the sort of sweeping changes we’ve seen in the last week from President Obama. But the changes he has initiated in his first five days have been cause to celebrate, and have given Americans reason to keep the post-inauguration overflow of optimism going strong.

A number of problematic, ideological Bush policies have already been eradicated, or will be in the near future. President Obama has ordered Guantanamo Bay shut down, effective in one year. He plans to reverse Bush’s executive order that limited federal funding for stem cell research. He will most likely reverse Bush’s decision to block efforts to limit vehicular greenhouse gas emissions. And in a decisive victory for worldwide reproductive rights, Obama swiftly overturned the global gag rule. A policy that best exemplifies the Bush era’s ideology, the global gag rule prohibited the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) from allocating funds to overseas health clinics that conduct – or even disseminate information about or referrals for – abortions, even when said clinics use their own funds to do so. (See my June 25, 2007 column for more information on the global gag rule and its dangerous implications).

The overturning of the global gag rule, also known as The Mexico City Policy, is a victory for several reasons. It is a victory for women worldwide who seek information about their reproductive choices and have thus far been limited in their access to it. It is a victory for those who turn to clinics for information about contraceptives – one of the most likely services to be cut from health centers when they lose U.S. funding. It is a victory for the clinics themselves – no longer will they have to shut their doors and shut out members of their communities who are in desperate need of information and services. It is even a victory for those who are against abortion, whether they realize it or not. Giving health clinics the much-needed funding will allow them to provide their under-privileged communities with contraceptives again. 

There is still a law in place prohibiting U.S. funds from being used for abortions, although the headlines would have us believe otherwise. Some samples, from this past week, courtesy of the blogger known as The Czech:

Obama Lifts Ban on Overseas Abortion Funding (Fox), Obama Reverses Abortion-Funds Policy (MSNBC) and Obama Reverses Rules on US Abortion Aid (NY Times). Contrary to this misreporting (or sensationalist headlining), overturning the global gag rule does not mean we are going to begin funding overseas abortions. Bush’s additional restrictions prohibited funding across the board, even when abortion was merely discussed in the clinics. Simply put, the global gag rule was ideologically driven, unnecessary and dangerous. 

And that is the biggest victory here. Through his actions this week, Obama is promising at least four years of policy that uses rationality rather than ideology, pragmatics rather than base-building (or base-placating). Liberals are not free from ideological influence, and Obama may make choices to placate them. But he is beginning by overturning bills that were unnecessarily dogmatic and damaging. Obama will probably continue to walk the center line, but for someone like me who has lived most of her politically engaged life under the rule of the Bush Administration, this last week has been a dream come true. 

© 2009 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

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