NARAL Pro-Choice America Applauds Chairman Lantos, House Leadership, for Holding Hearing on Dangerous Effects of the Global Gag Rule

Washington, D.C. – Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, commended pro-choice Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA) for holding the first fair-minded House hearing on reproductive health in 12 years.

The House Committee on Foreign Affairs, under the leadership of Chairman Lantos, is hosting a hearing to examine the effects of the Bush global gag rule, which denies the world's poorest women access to birth control and other essential health care. The House and Senate have both voted this year against the policy, and NARAL Pro-Choice America is urging lawmakers to include this issue in the final foreign-aid bill Congress sends to President Bush.

"I thank Chairman Lantos and the House leadership for addressing this very important issue that has devastating effects on family-planning services for the world's poorest women," Keenan said. "This hearing will reinforce why Congress should include a full repeal of the global gag rule in the final foreign-aid bill that's sent to President Bush. It's unconscionable for such a misguided and harmful policy to continue. Repealing the global gag rule represents the type of change the public called for when it put new leaders in charge of Congress."

On September 6, the Senate passed a full repeal of the global gag rule by a 53-41 margin. The House passed a partial repeal in July. Now, members of the House and Senate are working out the differences between the bills and will present, in the near future, a final bill to the president.

NARAL Pro-Choice America has already channeled more than 66,000 messages to Congress, urging both the House and Senate to make sure the final foreign-aid bill includes a full repeal of the global gag rule. In addition, NARAL Pro-Choice America produced a video, "The Global Gag Rule in 90 Seconds," that has attracted more than 6,200 views on YouTube. Further, activists from across the country are collecting petitions with signatures of friends and neighbors who are joining the call to end the global gag rule.

For more information, please visit /issues/abortion/access-to-abortion/refusal-clauses-and-counseling-bans/global-gag-rule.html

Contact:
Ted Miller, 202.973.3032