Old habits die hard
Naomi
Web Correspondent
Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota Action Fund
The Mexico City Policy, better known as “The Global Gag Rule,” denies U.S. funding to international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that perform abortions, provide referrals for abortions or all-options counseling, or lobby their governments for more liberal abortion policies – even if they use their own independent funds rather than U.S. dollars to perform such services. The policy has been condemned by myriad organizations as irresponsible, ignorant and ineffective. The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is currently before the Senate, awaiting final approval:
Funding would be tripled to $50 billion over the next five years. While the increased funding is a tremendous step forward, it also contains ideological restrictions that will prevent the funds from most effectively containing the spread of HIV by blocking the participation of family planning programs…Experience shows that involving family planning organizations will ensure the greatest level of access to information and services for women and girls.
Any organization that continues to provide abortion services or referrals is not only cut off from US funding, but is also denied American shipments of reduced-price contraceptives. Since many of these small non-profits are dependent upon donations for their survival, if they decline to be “gagged” they may find themselves with little money and no contraceptives to distribute to their target populations. Condoms are one of the only barriers to the continued spread of HIV across the developing world, and NGOs are often the only providers of effective contraception in destitute, rural areas. Denying shipments of condoms to “ungagged” NGOs is essentially allowing an American debate over “morality” to hinder efforts to eradicate AIDS.
It’s shameful that our elected officials have let an ideological power struggle take precedence over one of the greatest crises of our time. Abortion may be a hot-button issue in the United States, but it’s about time that anti-choice officials begin to understand the greater implications of these types of policies. HIV/AIDS is responsible for more than 2 million deaths each year – let’s put the tools for prevention into the hands of those who need them rather than implementing these harmful policies.
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