Bush Imposes Gag Rule
On January 25, 2001, on his first business day in office (and the 28th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision establishing a woman's right to an abortion), President George W. Bush stupidly re-imposed the Global Gag Rule on the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) population program. This policy restricts foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that receive USAID family planning funds from using their own, non-U.S. funds to provide legal abortion services, lobby their own governments for abortion law reform, or even provide accurate medical counseling or referrals regarding abortion. See what damage he is doing! The 1973 Helms Amendment is a legislative provision that already restricts U.S. funds from being used for these activities, but Bush had to get involved for political purposes.
About 2 million women die every year from unsafe abortions, a statistic that could be virtually eliminated by the provision of appropriate health information and services and law reform efforts. Despite this, President Bush's Executive Memorandum directs USAID "to reinstate in full all of the requirements of the Mexico City Policy in effect on January 19, 1993." According to this policy, foreign organizations--often the only health care providers in remote, rural areas--are prohibited from using their own, non-U.S. funds for:
* providing legal abortions even, can you believe, where a woman's physical or mental health is endangered (the only exceptions are in cases of rape, incest, or where the woman's life is endangered);
* providing advice and information regarding the availability and benefits of abortion and from providing referrals to another health clinic;
* lobbying their own governments to legalize abortion, to maintain current law and oppose restrictions, or to decriminalize abortion; and
* conducting public education campaigns regarding abortion.
In addition, even the provision of services that are "permitted"1 on paper, such as life-saving abortions and post-abortion care, are often curtailed because NGOs fear jeopardizing their funding through any association with abortion - what cowardice!! Providers may even be reluctant to dispense emergency contraception--which acts to prevent pregnancy and is not an abortifacient (despite the lies you may hear from the antichoice groups and the Catholic Church --because of the Global Gag Rule.
Abortions have been performed for thousands of years. In the 1800s abortions began to be outlawed. The reasons for anti-abortion laws varied for each state. Some people did not want the world to be dominated by newly arrived immigrants. Abortion in the 1800s were very unsafe due to the fact that the doctors had a limited educations and hospitals were not common. The outlawing of abortions from 1880 to 1973 led to many woman attempting illgeal abortions. (add author). Almost two hundred women died from attempting illegal abortions in 1965. Between two hundred thousand and one million illegal abortions were given each year. In states where local laws restrict the availability of abortion, women tend to have the lowest level of education and income. Additionally, in those states, less money goes toawrds education, welfare, fostercare programs, and adoption services. (Anderson, 5).
... women out of illegal abortion clinics where their life would be in danger. As the
On August 16, 1984 an international conference regarding population was held in Mexico City. It was at this conference that the Reagan Administration implemented the “Mexico City Policy”, also known and the Global Gag Rule. This policy stated that Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) would be prohibited from receiving United States funds if they performed, promoted, referred or counseled patients on abortion. The funds would be withheld from the NGOs even if the money used for abortion services were non-U.S. funds. This policy was in effect from 1984-1993 when president Bill Clinton came into office. On January 22, 2001 president George Bush reinstated the Mexico City Policy. There has been much debate over whether the policy is helping or hurting those abroad. Many people in the United States are not aware that the Mexico City Policy is in effect, or even what it is. It is very important that people here are aware of how the government is controlling health care and women’s rights in other countries.
...here is now a ban on partial-birth abortion in the United States, passed in March 2003.
Abortion is a controversial topic in today’s society as many opinions from different social groups on whether it should be legal or not create the big question: should the government be able to take away a woman’s reproductive right if it is to protect a fetus? In the United States particularly, much of the debate since the 1970s has focused on the Supreme Court case Roe v Wade, in which the court proclaimed women's’ rights to abortion but declared that the states could limit and regulate the procedure. That means that currently, the state of California allows abortions, but many groups against abortion, mostly called “pro-lifers,” still try to fight against it and want it banned. Women have a right to their own body and should
In 1973, in what has become a landmark ruling for women’s rights, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a woman’s right to an abortion. Ever since, individual states have adopted, altered, and/or mutilated the edict to fit their agendas – Texas included. However, the decision made by the justices in Roe v. Wade didn’t set clear cut, inarguable demarcation lines, which has allowed the fiery debate to consume the nation. Rather than establishing a legal ruling of what life is, or is not, the Supreme Court has remained silent on the issue.
To conclude, in order to protect human lives, it is vital to also keep women safe as well and to provide a safe conditions to allow abortion which necessary to women's safety. Women who are not on government assistance because they had better life opportunities to provide for themselves by exercising their choice of having an abortion. In the end it is a decision not for any legislator, pastor, or government official to make but the woman
Being a mother is a lifelong job that requires copious time, energy, and money. There are myriad different reasons in which a woman would consider getting an abortion. The decision is often tragic and painful for the mother. It is one of the biggest choices a woman will make. Many people have strong beliefs about abortion, and if a mother makes a decision that they do not agree with they sometimes turn against the mother, and enkindle egregious feelings about their decision for the rest of their life. Indeed a woman may not get an abortion for selfish reasons or out of convenience, but out of a desire to protect certain important values such as her own health or a decent standard of living for the other members of the family. Additional intentions for having abortion include rape, financial difficulties, obligation by family members, or danger to the baby’s health (Roleff
The government is now getting involved against abortions by trying to make abortions illegal in America. President Bush has signed a law that bans partial birth abortion. Troy Newman, the director of Operation Rescue, says that there is still a loop hole in this law. He says “it fallaciously includes a loop-hole exception to save the mother’s life that many abortionists have routinely abused when included in other legislation.” The government getting involved is a great thing. Making abortions illegal is bound to make the rate of abortion lower. Newman also includes in his article “Baby Steps to Victory” that there are other things to do with a child if the mother does not want it. He states, “If you are going to deliver a child 90% prior to sucking its brains why not fully deliver the child and place it up fo...
2. Anderson, D.E. Newsroom Guide to Abortion and Family Planning. Second Edtition. Washington, DC. Dickinson Publishing, 1996
Warren, Mary Anne , and Mappes and D. DeGrazia. "On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion." Biomedical Ethics 4th (1996): 434-440. Print.
Abortion, a simple word yet complicated. This word has become a controversial topic in political, religious and medical world since the 19th century and until now, it’s still a question in each and everyone’s heart. (“Feminist”) On January 1973, abortion has been brought out in the case of Roe v. Wade, which later ruled that the state law that banned abortion is unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. (“britannica”). Because of this case from 1973 through 2005, millions of legal abortions were performed. For a better cause and to avoid public protestants towards this issue, the government of Nebraska and Oklahoma had signed two specific laws about abortion (“Procon”). Although abortion has been protected by the government, many people- like me- still hold a strong belief that says:” Abortion is illegal.”
Wade 1973, the Supreme Court constitutionalized the laws criminalizing or restricting women's rights and access to abortion. Proponents in support of abortion through this trial failed to acknowledge the criminal sanction in terms of causing death to an unborn child during the birth process of leaving the mother’s uterus. Pro-life supporters counteracted these acknowledgments, however, highlighting the idea that it would not be long before the same influences used to validate killing an unborn child would be used in the same respect to rationalize killing those alive. With partial-birth abortion still legally in effect within the United States, questions are being raised in terms of how far Congress will actually allow this to go and by what circumstances it will essentially be considered illegal (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Expecting to completely eliminate abortions from the face of the earth by making them illegal and getting rid of the facilities that provide them is an awfully absurd idea due to the fact that abortions will never cease to exist. Induced abortions have taken place all over the world, and “societies have [been struggling with] the issue of abortion for millennia” (Abortion). Within countries where abortions are essentially illegal, many turn to unsafe abortion methods, usually performed by unskilled practitioners (Chapter 5). These procedures are “often unsanitary… and [result] in the death or mutilation of many women” (Abortion). In areas where these services are not attainable, many women are prompted to seek out specialists to assist them in dangerous and surreptitious methods of abortion such as repeated blows to the stomach and the insertion of bizarre objects in the vagina and cervix. However, abortion-related deaths are usually quite rare in developed countries where the service is both legal and accessible. It is estimated...
Carmen, Irin. “Abortion Bans with Exceptions for Rape Are Hypocritical.” Opposing Viewpoints in Context. 2012. Web. 13 Jan. 2014