Tell President Obama: End Bush's Global Gag Rule

The Bush Administration's global gag rule denied U.S. family planning funds to foreign NGOs (non-governmental organizations) that use their own private, non-U.S. dollars to counsel women, make referrals for abortion, or perform abortions. The gag policy even denied U.S. funds to NGOs that express support for laws to make abortion safe and legal.

As a result, medical professionals in some of the world's poorest nations risk losing their ability to provide life-saving, legal, and medically acceptable services -- or even basic health information.

It is appalling and dangerous, and unnecessarily puts women's lives at risk, to require health care providers that receive U.S. funds to withhold critical medical information and services from their patients. If we are serious about improving women's health around the world, we must not make it more difficult for women to get health care.

When women can't get the information and services they need to make safe and informed decisions, the outcomes can be devastating.

* Every year, 20 million women around the world have unsafe abortions, and every year complications result in 70,000 deaths.
* In Ethiopia, unsafe abortion is the second leading cause of death for women of reproductive age.
* And in Peru, which has the highest maternal mortality rates in Latin America, one in 7 women are hospitalized after having an abortion.

Encourage President Obama to make women and families a top priority -- and to end the previous administration's global gag rule within the critical first 100 days of his new Administration.
The National Partnership believes that the government can and should play a vital role in ensuring access to comprehensive, high-quality and affordable reproductive health care. We are calling on the new Administration and the new Congress to take immediate steps to reverse harmful policies put in place by the Bush Administration, and to give priority to advancing a comprehensive reproductive health agenda for all women - particularly those disadvantaged by poverty and discrimination. Help us reach our goal of greeting President Obama with 40,000 signatures. Join us in urging the new Obama Administration to make women and families a priority again. Petition Letter: [Your comment here] In the first 100 days, we ask the Obama Administration to end the global gag rule that limits access to reproductive and maternal health services for the women who need them the most. [Your Name]