For First Time in Nearly 20 Years, Senate Committee Passes Bill Failing to Repeal the Global Gag Rule
For Immediate Release: Sept. 26, 2019
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations FY 2020 State and Foreign Operations bill does not repeal harmful global gag rule that undermines our investments in global health and decreases access to contraception and other health services
Committee leadership blocked consideration of bipartisan amendment from Sen. Shaheen to repeal the rule
WASHINGTON — For the first time in nearly 20 years, today, on World Contraception Day, the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations advanced a State and Foreign Operations (SFOPs) bill that did not repeal the global gag rule, which undermines investments in global health and access to contraception and other health services across the world. The committee blocked consideration of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s (D-NH) bipartisan amendment to repeal the rule, demonstrating the lengths Senate Republicans will go to back the Trump-Pence administration and its relentless attacks on health care and reproductive rights in the United States and around the globe.
Statement from Alexis McGill Johnson, Acting President and CEO, Planned Parenthood Federation of America:
“Every day the global gag rule is in place, more and more people suffer. The fact that Senate Republicans used World Contraception Day to ignore the committee’s bipartisan support for repealing this rule shows the extent to which they will fall in line with the Trump-Pence administration’s extreme agenda to take away people’s health and rights across the globe. No matter where people live, they should not live in fear that they won’t be able to access health care. ”
In January 2017, Trump reinstated an unprecedented expansion of the global gag rule, which bars international organizations that work on any U.S. funded global health program, including HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, maternal and child health, and malaria programs, from providing abortion services, referral or counseling or advocating for abortion access. This policy leaves the world’s most vulnerable people to suffer and undermines years of efforts to improve health worldwide.
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Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading provider and advocate of high-quality, affordable health care for women, men, and young people, as well as the nation’s largest provider of sex education. With more than 600 health centers across the country, Planned Parenthood organizations serve all patients with care and compassion, with respect and without judgment. Through health centers, programs in schools and communities, and online resources, Planned Parenthood is a trusted source of reliable health information that allows people to make informed health decisions. We do all this because we care passionately about helping people lead healthier lives.