Study to Be Released on Impact of Bush Administration's Global Gag Rule: Women, Children, Families Denied Access Around the World

9/22/2003

From: Mark Daley, 202-557-3446, mdaley@popact.org or Kimberley Cline, 202-557-3423, kcline@popact.org, both of Population Action International

News Advisory:

What: New Study to Be Released on Impact of the Bush Administration's Global Gag Rule: Women, Children and Families Denied Access Around the World

Where: National Press Club, The Peter Lisagor Room, 529 14th Street NW, Washington, D.C., 13th Floor

When: Wednesday, Sept. 24, 9:30 - 11 a.m.

For the first time since the Bush Administration reinstated the Mexico City Policy, also known as the Global Gag Rule, an international coalition of reproductive health organizations have come together to study the impact of the policy on women, children and families around the world.

A new report, Access Denied: U.S. Restrictions on International Family Planning, documents the devastating impact of the Global Gag Rule on the health of women, children and families in Ethiopia, Kenya, Romania and Zambia.

-- Terri Bartlett, vice president for Public Policy and Strategic Initiatives, Population Action International, will provide a brief overview of the study and will introduce:

Hilary Fyfe, chairperson, Family Life Movement of Zambia, a faith-based organization that works on adolescent reproductive health, peer education, and HIV/AIDS, will provide an "on-the-ground" perspective about the effects of the Gag Rule.

Amare Bedada, executive director, Family Guidance Association of Ethiopia (FGAE), the leading family planning NGO in the country, working to introduce youth-friendly family planning services and supplies to Ethiopia's 21.9 million young people through their services, will discuss the effects of the Global Gag Rule on FGAE's activities.

Valerie DeFillipo, senior director, Global Partners and International Initiatives, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, will discuss US voters' reactions to the Global Gag Rule, and how the policy has negatively affected the political climate around international family planning.

Barbara Crane, executive vice president, Ipas, will discuss the implications of the Gag Rule for unsafe abortion in the countries affected, and the advocacy role of NGOs and how the Gag Rule puts the US in conflict with the international community on public health in the developing world.

A question and answer session will follow, as well as the premiere of a short documentary on the Global Gag Rule's impact in Zambia, one of Africa's poorest countries.

Note to Reporters, Editors, and Producers

The report was developed by the Global Gag Rule Impact Project, a collaborative research effort led by Population Action International in partnership with Ipas and Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and with assistance in gathering field evidence from EngenderHealth and Pathfinder International. The Project's objective is to document the consequences of the Global Gag Rule and was initiated soon after the policy was reinstated by President George W. Bush in January 2001. While the missions of the collaborating organizations are diverse, we are united in our commitment to advancing reproductive health and rights, and in our belief that policies governing U.S. assistance should be evidence-based and reflect proven public health practices.