Standing with Our Sisters Here and Worldwide
Most Americans are unaware of the devastating and often deadly impacts of restrictive U.S. policies on the reproductive health and lives of women worldwide. Every year, an estimated 100,000 women worldwide suffer obstetric fistulas because of prolonged labor and no access to medical care. Each year, 529,000 women and girls die worldwide due to complications related to pregnancy, including as many as 80,000 women and girls who die every year from botched abortions. Hundreds of thousands more are injured and maimed. Tragically, most of these deaths and health problems are preventable and reveal the horrific consequences fueled by the current U.S. international family planning and abortion policies.
For the last five years, the Bush Administration has refused to release tens of millions of dollars that Congress appropriated to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) , on the grounds its program in China promotes abortion, despite subsequent investigations by the U.S. State Department and other agencies that found this allegation to be false. Bush re-instituted the Global Gag Rule, which prohibits U.S. support of family planning programs internationally that use separate funds to provide services, counseling, or referrals for abortion services; to advocate for legalizing abortion; or even to speak about abortion.
At the expense of proven and effective family planning programs, funding has increasingly been directed to abstinence-only programs. The administration insists on promoting abstinence, even in developing countries where HIV and AIDS are endemic, further endangering women and disproportionately impacting young people and gravely limiting their ability to stay healthy and free of HIV and AIDS. Moreover, the 1994 UN Population Conference participants -- including the U.S. -- agreed to commit $17 billion in 2000, rising to $18.5 billion annually in order to meet worldwide family planning needs. Yet every year, the world falls short of this goal by some $7 billion. The U.S. has lapsed behind in its annual commitment, due in part to anti-abortion politics, contributing to the global shortfall.
The U.S. must once again become engaged on the international stage in expanding support for international family planning assistance to save women's lives.
Take action on your campus today :
Check out our newest Global Campaign Kit!
Hold an event on your campus featuring activities/events on global reproductive rights
- Urge everyone on your campus that cares about saving women's lives to sign the petition
- Organize a die-in to dramatize the tens of thousands of women who die each year of botched, illegal abortoins
- Sponsor a showing of the "Global Majority ... Again" video followed by a discussion
- Launch the Afghan women's health initiative on your campus.
- Table with petitions at lunch time
- Dorm storm to collect signatures
- Download the Abstinence Sucks and Global Gag Rule ads
Check out our factsheets and use them to inform your campus!
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