On the Anniversary of President Biden’s Temporary Revocation of the GGR, our partner organizations call for bold action in the U.S. Congress
Today, January 28, 2022, marks one year since President Biden temporarily revoked through executive action the Global Gag Rule (GGR) — a dangerous anti-abortion policy that attaches strings to U.S. global health assistance to effectively “gag” organizations and halt all existing work providing, advocating for, counseling on, or providing referrals for abortion services as a method of family planning, even if those activities are funded by their own, non-U.S. funding. Fòs Feminista, is calling on Congress to permanently repeal the Global Gag Rule to ensure that no future president will ever be able to reinstate this disastrous policy that threatens global human rights and freedom of speech.
“The Global Gag Rule has been temporarily revoked by Democratic presidents and then again installed by Republicans repeatedly with each changing administration since President Reagan, creating a chilling instability that encourages organizations to over-implement the policy to ensure their compliance,” said Serra Sippel, Chief Advocacy Officer of Fòs Feminista. “The Global Gag Rule is treated as a box for presidents to check — a bone to throw to their voters. But it’s not as easy as checking a box to reverse the Global Gag Rule’s harm. It is critical that Congress takes action now to permanently repeal the Global Gag Rule once and for all.”
Following the Administration’s recent public commitment to a permanent repeal of the Global Gag Rule, both Republican and Democratic Senators have agreed that temporary action is insufficient to reduce the policy’s far-reaching harm and have signaled their support of a permanent repeal of the Global Gag Rule through the appropriations process. The House of Representatives has already included permanent repeal of the policy in their 2022 appropriations bill. Congress has a deadline of February 18 to pass an appropriations bill to keep the government running.
“The Global Gag Rule forces organizations to choose whether to meet the conditions under the policy — which potentially conflict with their country’s laws — or sacrifice critical U.S. government funding. The policy’s mere existence has created funding gaps, weakened partnerships and coalitions between organizations, silenced the voices of civil societies and curtailed efforts to reach marginalized populations with sexual and reproductive health services,” said Dr. Mahesh Puri, co-director of the Center for Research on Environment, Health and Population Activities (CREHPA) in Nepal.
“Malawi has been hit hard by the ramifications of the Global Gag Rule under previous Administrations. When the Global Gag Rule is implemented, clinics offering family planning services shutter, which causes an upsurge of unsafe abortions and their resulting complications — including death. This cycle of harm will repeat if another Administration has the opportunity to reinstall it,” said Brian Ligomeka, the executive director of the Centre for Solutions Journalism in Malawi. “As far as we are concerned, the implementation of the Global Gag Rule is the driver of maternal deaths. Its permanent repulsion would be sweet, life-saving news.”
Temporary revocation of the Global Gag Rule does not repair the harm caused by its previous installment. The Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Index, which grades U.S. global health assistance to assess the U.S. government’s work on SRHR, illustrates that the expansion of the Global Gag Rule by the Trump White House contributed to an overall decrease in SRHR rankings globally. That level of harm creates a ripple effect that is impossible to halt without clear, decisive, permanent action.
“The Global Gag Rule plays politics with women, girls, and the most vulnerable populations. It uses them as target practice with vicious accuracy. Even when temporarily revoked, the far-reaching harmful impact of the policy continues to restrict access to sexual and reproductive healthcare and rights, making it crucial for President Biden to work with Congress to permanently repeal the Global Gag Rule,” said Giselle Carino, director and CEO of Fòs Feminista. “To put it plainly: ending this U.S. domestic political battle is key to advancing abortion access in the U.S. and globally.”
“As we celebrate one year since the Biden administration temporarily revoked the Global Gag Rule, we must remain mindful that we cannot afford the risk of its reinstatement. The real celebration to savor will come from the permanent removal of the Global Gag Rule. It will be a mammoth stride toward women and girls enjoying their autonomy and right to health across the world,” said Rouzeh Eghtessadi, executive director of SAfAIDS Regional in Africa. “Today’s anniversary also represents one year fewer before the inauguration of the next president of the United States, whose position on the Global Gag Rule holds the potential to be regressive. The need to press on in solidarity to remove this harmful policy has risen to the next notch of urgency.”
