Senator Boxer to hold Foreign Relations Committe Hearing on the Global Gag Rule

Talk to an Expert: Susan Cohen of Alan Guttmacher Institute at (202) 296-4012 or cell (202) 329-7784 Kirsten Sherk of Planned Parenthood Federation of America at (202) 973-4864 or cell (202) 549-8226 Media Coverage on the Gag Rule USAID Issues Parameters for FY2001 Population Assistance Bush's Executive Memorandum Click here to read the Global Democracy Promotion Act of 2001 in PDF Fact Sheets By: CRLP: The Impact of the Global Gag Rule and The Global Gag Rule’s Effects on Gagged Countries USAID: Voluntary Population Activities – Restoration of the Mexico City Policy PAI: Why the Global Gag Rule Undermines US Foreign Policy and Harm's Women's Health IPPF: Mexico City Policy

July 18 - at 10 A.M. on Thursday, July 19, U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), chair of a subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will hold hearings about the impact of the Global Gag Rule on international family planning providers and the people who use their services.

On his first full business day in office, President Bush issued an Executive Order imposing a global gag rule on international family planning providers (the order is sometimes referred to as the Mexico City policy). The President’s Executive Order denies US funding to any foreign non-governmental organizations that uses its own funds to provide information or counseling related to abortion services, or to voice an opinion about abortion laws in their own countries. Experts have indicated that the global gag rule will diminish family planning, women’s health and HIV/AIDS prevention efforts around the world by denying funds to some of the most accomplished family planning providers. Moreover, it has been pointed out that the gag rule runs contrary to basic freedoms of speech in the United States and would be unconstitutional if imposed on US-based organizations. Finally, President Bush’s global gag rule is among other decisions of the new Administration criticized as being anti-environmental.

In May 2001, an amendment to the Foreign Relations Authorization Act that would overturn the controversial gag rule was approved by a 26-22 vote during HIRC consideration of legislation authorizing State Department spending programs for 2002 and 2003. Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) sponsored the amendment, which was overturned a couple weeks later in a narrow vote (218-210) by the US House of Representatives.

The Lee amendment is identical to a bill introduced in the House and Senate earlier this year -- the Global Democracy Promotion Act.

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