Ending the global gag rule--change the daddy can believe in!

"Being a woman is a terribly difficult task, since it consists principally in dealing with men." --Joseph Conrad
"Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition."
--Timothy Leary

Listen up. The daddy does not write on Family Planning issues very often. But a brotha is doing it today: he is writing to say he is proud of President Barack Obama for rescinding George Bush's ban on funding for family planning. This ban is called the "Global Gag Rule."

Though the right will hate it, it is a good move that will be especially good in third world countries where family planning information is badly needed but the funding to develop and sustain such programs was held back. In fact, the money for such programs were used as a political football by the Bush administration to get third world countries to comply with the impractical views of the right wing base in his Republican Party. Essentially, it's a ban that says to third world countries, "You will get no funding from us for AIDS/HIV education if you
include in any education information or assistance with abortion." It was a devastating policy.
President Clinton rescinded it in 1993, and President Obama rescinded it yesterday.

Here's an article about President Obama reversing this ban from the CNN Network:

Obama Reverses Global Gag Rule

by Suzanne Malveaux

WASHINGTON - President Obama signed an executive order Friday striking down a rule prohibiting U.S. money from funding international family planning groups that promote abortion or provide information, counseling or referrals about abortion services.

The order comes the day after the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion in the United States.

It reverses the "Mexico City policy," initiated by President Reagan in 1984, canceled by President Clinton and reinstated by President George W. Bush in 2001.

The policy, referred to by critics as "the global gag rule," was initially announced at a population conference in Mexico City.

Reversing the previous administrations' stance on the policy was one of Clinton's first acts as president in January 1993 and the very first executive order issued by Bush on January 22, 2001, the 28th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

Critics, including Planned Parenthood, called Bush's move a "legislative ambush."

He defended his action, saying, "It is my conviction that taxpayer funds should not be used to pay for abortion or actively promote abortion."

The group Population Action International praised Obama's move, saying in a statement that it will "save women's lives around the world."

"Family planning should not be a political issue; it's about basic health care and well-being for women and children," it said. "Women's health has been severely impacted by the cutoff of assistance. President Obama's actions will help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, abortions and women dying from high-risk pregnancies because they don't have access to family planning."

This is change the daddy can believe in!