Hasta la vista Global Gag Rule!
It's official, Obama has signed an executive order to overturn the global gag rule. Thank god for responsible leadership that doesn't turn reproductive health into a political issue. May this be the first in a long series of positive changes for our government.
What reproductive rights change would you want to see next? I'm thinking getting rid of abstinence-only funding and the Hyde amendment, for starters.
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wooooo hooooo!!!
We've waiting so long for this moment, I can't believe it's here at last.
Via Planned Parenthood, I just texted OBAMA to 69866 to thank our President.
Pretty moving outpouring of gratitude:
http://www.ppaction.org/network/thankyouobama0109.html
My eyes filled up when I took a look at that. President Obama, you have made me so happy this week. ?
That question mark was originally a heart. :p
Hallelujah! It's hard to express the impact this will have on development programs. Wow!
I think I may bake some Obama-hope-icon cupcakes for the party I'm having this weekend, just to celebrate this progress.
Tears of happiness.
Finally, a President who cares about women, their health, their bodies and their choices.
I had been waiting, after the election, to see what Obama would actually do in office.
and even my cynical radical self that knows that, no, he's not going to bring the revolution, has been very, very happy this week with Obama's executive orders.
I dunno what Obama can do about the Hyde Amendment, but otherwhise WOOO! Everyone, gather 'round for the Feministing conga line!
So fantastic!
Now...Freedom of Choice Act! Freedom of Choice Act!
I really want that.
This was such great news to come home to! I always believed President Obama would make this country and the world a better place, but the swift actions he has taken this week are more than I dared hope for. Thank you Barack!
ALSO, check this out fr good news at home, too:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/civil_rights/
Very good news.
Did anyone notice how f'ed up the MSM coverage of this repeal was? It was all "Obama Reauthorizes the Killing of Babies Overseas" style.
The GGR didn't even stop abortions! The Helms Amendment is what prevents US money from paying for overseas abortions. Why were so many headlines wrong?
I cataloged some of these weird headlines at The Czech.
Did anyone else see incorrect media coverage?
Suddenly who gave the invocation prayer at the inauguration seems so utterly inconsequential.
Exactly! ah, aleks, right on the money as usual :-)
I think that it is great theat Global Gag is gone, but I wonder if it is really more symbolic than effective. I say this because abortion is never allowed in many countries in Africa and in the middle East, and women have no say in their fertility, global gag or not. Furthermore, if a woman is found to have aborted a fetus, she may face abuse from her own family and husband.Just because Global Gag is done for doesn't mean the the status of women has changed in many countries, and does not mean that a woman will be able to have an abortion.
Hey there. I think you may misunderstand what the GGR was about... USAID cannot now fund overseas abortions- that is still prohibited.
What this means is that reproductive health clinics who discuss the option of abortion will receive more funding, so that women in 3rd world countries who lack reproductive choices may get a few more options.
You are right that this doesn't change the political situations in women's countries regarding abortion.
If you're petitioning Obama to invade African countries to change the culture here, would you do me a favor and ask him to send some chalk? Computers would be great too, but a couple of C-130's full of chalk would be really really helpful. And chairs and desks of course.
That's not what I meant to imply at all. I think that that would be a really ineffective thing, anyway. It sure wasn't a good idea when France, America, and England tried that anyway. I guess they didn't bring computers though, since that was before their time. I wasn't really suggesting anything. I don't have a solution. I am just skeptical that the repeal of the GGR will do much good, and I think that it is important to understand the different aspects and consequences of this. That's all. But I think that you scared me off the site. Oh yeah, and if you haven't read it, you should check out The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta. I read that, and it made me wonder if westerners are being a bit ignorant to assume that this (the repeal of the GGR) is such a big revalation. I didn't mean for any of this to be condescending or mean; it is just what I think about the whole thing.
It's what he can do via executive order. He's the executive in charge of American foreign policy, he's not cultural minister of the third world.
I realize that. That actually fits right into my point, also. I think that I raised some valid issues, and I don't think that I deserve to be patronized for them. And, I think that there are better terms to use than "third world." That terminology depicts a kind of "us and them" mentality.
Almost . . . us and them and them. I'm in Namibia, how would you describe it? The Not Yet Completely Developed But We're Keeping Our Fingers Crossed World?
I completely understand what the GGR is all about. My main point, which I don't think I wrote very well, is that family planning is general, in many places, is prohibited or frowned upon. I am aware that there were some clinics that got shut down because of the lack of funding, funding which was removed for just mentioning abortion. I think that that is a sad thing. Theoretically, without GGR, there will be more options for women. However, there are many countries with such a strong emphasis on women having as many children as they concieve, and where women not having children makes them worthless. In these places, I am not sure that the removal of the GGR will be of much consequence. It doesn't mean that women will have access to these clinics; it just means that these clinics are there.