PHA-Exchange> George Bush's War on Women

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From: gender-aids at healthdev.net

Bush's secret war
IPPF, 22 January, 2003
**********************

London - Shielded by the smokescreen of an imminent war, President George
Bush is waging another stealth campaign, systematically working to undermine
reproductive freedom around the world, claims The International Planned
Parenthood Federation (IPPF).

Today marks the third anniversary of the beginning of this cultural battle.
On this day in 2001, in one of his first actions on taking office, President
Bush reinstated the Global Gag Rule - or Mexico City Policy - which cut off
U.S. international aid money from any family planning organization that
engaged, directly or indirectly, in abortion-related activities. The cost to
IPPF was devastating - $18 million lost, clinics closed, essential
reproductive health denied or delayed.  This unjust policy has actually
increased the number of unintended pregnancies and illegal, unsafe abortions
and consequently needless deaths.

Since then, using every means available to him, Bush has formulated a
strategy to stifle reproductive rights and access to reproductive health
care services. They include: instituting gag rules that censor free speech;
supporting legislation that limits access to family planning and abortion
services; sinking large sums of money into medically unproven
abstinence-only sexuality education; nominating religious ideologues to
important scientific posts and decrying the use of condoms.

IPPF Director General Dr Steven Sinding said: "We are using this, the third
anniversary of the Global Gag Rule, to draw
the world's attention to a chronology of events [see separate War on Women
Chronology below] which show George Bush's seemingly single-minded
determination to strip women of reproductive rights and access to
reproductive health services - not just abortion but even family planning
and sex education.

"These acts are a testament to the Bush administration's war against women
and his overall contempt for their fundamental civil and human rights."

For further information contact:
Email: fsalter at ippf.org


George Bush's War on Women: A chronology

Reducing access to family planning

* On his first day in office, the 28th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Bush
restores the Reagan-era global gag rule on international family planning
assistance (See also Censoring free speech) - January 22, 2001
* President Bush moves to increase "abstinence-only" education funding -
October 11, 2002
* House passes the "Child Custody Protection Act" - April 17, 2002
* Bush administration representatives fight sexuality education and oppose
condoms for HIV/AIDS prevention at the UN Children's Summit (see also
Replacing science with right-wing ideology) - May 2002
* President Bush withholds $34 million in funding for birth control,
maternal and child health care, and HIV/AIDS prevention from the United
Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) (see also Replacing science with right-wing
ideology) - July 22, 2002
* President Bush does an about-face on support of women's rights treaty, The
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
CEDAW - July 26, 2002
* House passes the so-called "Abortion Non-Discrimination Act" (see also:
Building the platform to outlaw abortion) - September 25, 2002
* Bush administration Web sites remove medically accurate information (see
also Reducing access to family planning) - October 2002
* HHS announces "abstinence-only" advocate to oversee nation's family
planning program (see also Replacing science with right-wing ideology) -
October 7, 2002
* Bush administration reverses U.S. position in support of 1994 global
agreement that affirms the right of all couples and individuals to determine
freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children and to have
the information and means to do so (United Nations, 1994) (see also
Censoring free speech) - November 2, 2002

Building the platform to outlaw abortion

* House passes the "Child Custody Protection Act" (see also Reducing access
to family planning) - April 17, 2002
* House passes the so-called "Unborn Victims of Violence Act" (see also
Redefining the legal status of the fetus) - April 26, 2001
* President Bush does an about-face on support of women's rights treaty, The
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW) (see also Reducing access to family planning) - July 26, 2002
* House passes the so-called "Abortion Non-Discrimination Act" (see also
Redefining the legal status of the fetus) - September 25, 2002
* Bush administration gives embryos new status in the HHS Secretary's
Advisory Committee on Human Research Protection Charter - October 2002
* Bush Administration Advances position that life begins at conception at
regional population conference in Asia - December 11-17, 2002

Replacing science with right-wing ideology

* President Bush considers nominating John Klink - an ardent opponent of
birth control and a spokesperson for the Vatican's opposition to condom
use - to oversee the United States' global population program - May 23, 2001
* House passes the "Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2001" - July 31, 2001
* President Bush prevents taxpayer funding for additional stem cells beyond
existing stem cell lines, placing severe limits on stem cell research -
August 9, 2001
* President Bush moves to increase "abstinence-only" education funding -
October 11, 2001
* Bush administration representatives fight sexuality education and oppose
condoms for HIV/AIDS prevention at the UN Children's Summit (see also
Reducing access to family planning) - May 2002
* President Bush withholds $34 million in funding for birth control,
maternal and child health care, and HIV/AIDS prevention from the United
Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) (see also Reducing access to family
planning) - July 22, 2002
* President Bush withholds more than $200 million in funding for programs to
support women and address HIV/AIDS in Afghanistan - August 2, 2002
* President Bush Freezes $3 million in funding to the World Health
Organization (WHO) in response to anti-choice objections to the WHO's human
reproduction research program - October 2002
* Bush administration Web sites remove medically accurate information (see
also Censoring free speech, Reducing access to family planning) - October
2002
* HHS announces "abstinence-only" advocate to oversee nation's family
planning program (see also Reducing access to family planning) - October 7,
2002
* Family planning foe Rep. Chris Smith calls on USAID to exclude
reproductive health organizations in developing countries from receiving
HIV/AIDS funding - October 24, 2002

Censoring free speech

* Bush administration Web sites remove medically accurate information -
October 2002
* Bush administration reverses U.S. position in support of 1994 global
agreement that affirms the right of all couples and individuals to determine
freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children and to have
the information and means to do so (United Nations, 1994) (see also Reducing
access to family planning) - November 2, 2002
* The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Web site posted
"revised" fact sheet downplaying condom effectiveness - December 2, 2002
* At an international conference in Bangkok, U.S. officials demanded the
deletion of a recommendation for "consistent condom use" to fight AIDS and
sexual diseases. One study by the University of California at Berkeley found
condom distribution to be astonishingly cost-effective, costing just $3.50
per year of life saved. In contrast, antiretroviral therapy cost
almost $1,050. Yet the U.S. is now donating only 300 million condoms
annually, down from about 800 million at the end of the first President
Bush's term.

*with thanks to Planned Parenthood Federation of America
www.plannedparenthood.org

* IPPF is the largest voluntary organization working towards healthier
sexual and reproductive lives for everyone. Founded 50 years ago in India,
IPPF now works in 182 countries to fight against poverty, ignorance and
misery by providing more people with choices about their lives, offering
sexual and reproductive health and family planning information and services,
and working to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and other infections.