Removing the gag

To commemorate the Jan. 22 anniversary of Roe v. Wade, George W. Bush began his first term by instating a “global gag rule” ending American funding of contraceptive and family-planning services to organizations around the world – organizations that also provided abortions.

Obama reportedly plans to lift the gag, although he refrained from continuing predecessors’ tradition of doing so on the actual anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision – a move many see as an effort to respect those in the anti-abortion movement.

If anti-abortion activists are willing to accept the policy as long as it doesn’t happen on the emotionally charged anniversary of the historic decision, change has certainly come to America. We’re satisfied in knowing that the effect of Obama’s policy reversal will be the same whether it comes tomorrow or next week.

Of course, the United States of America should not refuse women of poor countries the same access to abortion services it guarantees its own citizens.

Even more importantly, reversing the gag is critical for the work it will do to reduce the number of unnecessary abortions. Many of the clinics the Bush administration refused to fund also provided family-planning services and contraceptives, meaning that the policy also limited women’s access to services that could have reduced the demand for abortions in the first place.

By supporting these organizations rather than trying to run them out of business, American foreign policy will help prevent unwanted pregnancies instead of closing clinics and forcing women into highly dangerous back-alley procedures.

Americans,”Pro-life or pro-choice,” should support lifting Bush’s “global gag rule.”
It is not only critical for removing an inherently unfair double standard and promoting human rights, but also for promoting a completely non-partisan goal: reducing abortions.