Women’s Health Issues Elevated in Obama’s First 100 Days

Actions Highlight Link Between Economic Recovery and Women’s Equality

WASHINGTON, April 29 – Amid the ongoing global economic crisis, the Obama administration took several positive steps in its first 100 days to highlight what the White House called “the elevated importance of women’s issues to this president and his entire administration.”

One after the other, administration officials cited the role of women’s health and equality in helping staggering economies recover and weak economies grow.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in accepting the Margaret Sanger Award from Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said gender equality is fundamental for global development. “I see the results of social and economic costs in marginalizing women and denying them their freedom,” she said.

“And I know that there is a corollary to that denial. It is political destabilization. Because when people live in poverty and desperation, they often take desperate action.” However, she added, “The good news is there is a flip side. The presence of voluntary family planning programs and support for reproductive rights has tangible benefits.”

In her travels worldwide, Clinton visited women’s development projects and praised government efforts on their behalf. Appearing before Congress, she gave a strong defense to reproductive health care and family planning rights when they came under attack. She called family planning “an important part of women’s health,” adding firmly that “reproductive health includes access to abortion, that I believe should be safe, legal and rare.”

Below are some other highlights of the Obama administration’s first 100 days:

• On his third day in office, President Obama rescinded the so-called global gag rule that barred funding for overseas family planning groups offering counsel about abortion or working for abortion law reform. “I have directed my staff to reach out to those on all sides of this issue to achieve the goal of reducing unintended pregnancies,” Obama said. “They will also work to promote safe motherhood, reduce maternal and infant mortality rates and increase educational and economic opportunities for women and girls.” A few days later, the Senate overwhelmingly rejected a surprise Republican proposal to reinstate and even expand the reach of the gag rule.
  
  
• The president signed into law the fiscal 2009 omnibus spending measure that provided a $50 million contribution to UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund – the first time funding has been provided in seven years. The bill allocates $545 million for bilateral and multilateral family planning and reproductive health programs worldwide. This is $82 million over 2008 funding levels, an 18 percent increase, and a 66 percent increase over the Bush administration’s request. Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, executive director of UNFPA, said the move heralded a “shift in U.S. policy to support reproductive health and women's rights worldwide.”
  
  
• Melanne Verveer was appointed to be Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues in the State Department, a new position established by the Obama administration. She noted the administration’s “deep commitment” to the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development Cairo Programme of Action. That document aims at slowing world population growth and empowering women through education, economic development and access to comprehensive reproductive health care.
  
  
• The Obama administration reversed a Bush administration policy issued last September by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) that forced several African governments to discontinue the provision of U.S.-funded contraceptive supplies to Marie Stopes International (MSI), one of the world’s leading family planning organizations.
  
  
• The fiscal year 2009 omnibus bill also included a pill-pricing provision designed to make birth control affordable for millions of U.S. women.
  
  
• President Obama created a White House Council on Women and Girls to coordinate Cabinet-level programs that affect women worldwide, with the goal of bringing new visibility and coordinated action to many executive branch programs for women.
  
  
• President Obama, Vice President Biden, Secretary of State Clinton and United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice have expressed support for U.S. ratification of the International Treaty for the Rights of Women, also known as CEDAW, and pledged to make it a priority for Senate action. The treaty, the world’s most complete agreement about basic human rights for women, outlines standards for ratifying countries to move toward gender equality. The United States is one of only eight countries that have not ratified CEDAW.
  
  
• The Obama administration proposed to rescind the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Federal Refusal Rule, which was put in place in the closing days of the Bush administration. The rule, roundly criticized by health providers, allows healthcare workers to deny patients abortion counseling or other family planning services if those services violate their personal beliefs.
  
  
• The Food and Drug Administration reversed itself in April to rule that the so-called “morning-after pill” known as Plan B can be provided to 17-year-olds over-the-counter without a prescription. The ruling overturned a Bush administration policy and was hailed by reproductive health advocates nationwide. Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said the decision was “a strong statement to American women that their health comes before politics.”
  

Summing up the new approach, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) authored a March 17 op ed in The Washington Times asserting that investment in girls pays off handsomely and is the catalyst countries need to overcome poverty. “Even as markets plunge, empowering women is one investment that is guaranteed to show enormous returns,” he said. “If we keep faith with the enormous potential and promise of our young women, they will do things their mothers and grandmothers, and fathers and grandfathers, only dreamed of. And all of us will be better off.”

Numerous organizations have published reviews on Obama's first 100 days, including: Ms. Magazine and Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

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