For Immediate Release:	September 18, 2002
Sponsor Organization:	Center for Reproductive Law and Policy
In a disappointing decision on Friday, September 13, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit dismissed CRLP v. Bush, the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy's (CRLP) case against President George W. Bush's "global gag rule" (GGR)
New York, NY - In a disappointing decision on Friday, September 13, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit dismissed CRLP v. Bush, the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy's (CRLP) case against President George W. Bush's "global gag rule" (GGR) - the policy that prevents foreign non-governmental organizations (FNGOs) that receive U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) family planning funds from using their own non-U.S. funds to provide abortion services, counsel women regarding abortion, or lobby their own governments for abortion law reform. In its opinion, the Second Circuit rejected the plaintiffs' claim that the GGR violated the free speech rights of CRLP and its international human rights attorneys by impeding their ability to lobby for abortion law reform around the world, citing Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. v. Agency for International Development, 915 F.2d 59 (2d. Cir. 1990). In that case, in which the same court upheld a previous version of the GGR, the Second Circuit held that any impact on U.S.-based advocates was caused by FNGOs' "independent choice" to take the USAID funds. Relying completely on that case, the court in CRLP v. Bush held that the plaintiffs' claims were not legally distinguishable from those of the plaintiffs in the earlier case. "The 'global gag rule' is government sanctioned censorship - plain and simple," said Priscilla Smith, Acting Director of CRLP's Domestic Program. "The impact of this censorship is dramatic and immediate. It is tragic that the courts have not provided recourse for advocates fighting for the lives and health of millions of women worldwide." In a legal battle that began 14 months ago, CRLP v. Bush challenged President Bush's contentious re-instatement of the 1984 "Mexico City Policy," a policy which President Clinton reversed in 1993, but which remained on the Republican legislative agenda for reinstatement during Clinton's presidency. In 2001, President Bush officially reinstated the GGR via an Executive Order. CRLP maintains that without access to gagged foreign organizations and their information, CRLP and like-organizations cannot effectively communicate with activists in other countries, influence governments, or assist in abortion law reform because many of these groups work on critical reproductive health projects that rely upon U.S. funds. Groups that refuse U.S. funding are forced to curtail projects that benefit some of the most vulnerable women. By virtue of the GGR, the U.S. government can be seen as complicit in causing harm, injury and even death to women worldwide. 80,000 women die annually due to unsafe abortions - most of which occur in countries where access to abortion is highly restricted or illegal altogether. An estimated 228 million women worldwide who want to delay or cease childbearing (roughly one in six women of reproductive age) are in need of effective contraceptive methods. Meeting the existing demand for family planning services would reduce maternal deaths and injuries by about 20 percent. 26% of the world's people live in the 74 nations that either prohibit abortion altogether or permit abortion only to save a woman's life. It is estimated that at least 20 million abortions are performed under unsafe, illegal conditions. In Nepal, 539 women per 100,000 live births die from pregnancy-related complications (as compared to 7 in 100,000 in U.S.), half of which are caused by unsafe abortions. Efforts to implement a new liberal abortion law in Nepal are being negatively impacted by the GGR. Prominent women's health organizations in Peru and Colombia, where abortion is a leading cause of maternal mortality, have been unable to advocate for the need for abortion law reform in their countries due to the GGR. In Bolivia, 390 women per 100,000 live births die from pregnancy-related complications. As a direct result of the GGR, NGOs that had formed a coalition to press for the liberalization of Bolivia's abortion law and spread public health awareness were forced to curtail their activities. CRLP v. Bush garnered support from prominent legislators, including Senator Barbara Boxer and Representative Barbara Lee, as well as from organizations from many of the affected countries. These organizations have expressed their incredulity and frustration that the U.S., which holds itself out as a bastion of democracy and free speech, is silencing and impeding the work of organizations fighting for women's health and lives. They see the U.S. as exporting a double-standard as most American women have access to safe, legal abortions, whereas women in their countries are still struggling to gain reproductive autonomy. In March 2001, 233 European Parliamentarians from 20 countries signed a landmark petition condemning the GGR. The next step in the legal strategy of CRLP v. Bush is now under consideration. But in the interim, CRLP will continue to work in partnership with lawyers, doctors, professors, parliamentarians and other professionals to educate policymakers about the deadly consequences of criminalizing abortion and to encourage them to reform restrictive abortion laws.