Finally. Some good news from Washington. Thanks to all of you who responded
to our recent alert asking you to urge Senators to support the United
Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Late yesterday, the U.S. Senate adopted without opposition an amendment,
offered by Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), to the
annual Foreign Operations spending bill to ensure American support for the
crucial work of UNFPA.
The bill also contains a provision to overturn the Bush administrations
obnoxious Global Gag Rule that denies U.S. aid to any overseas health care
provider that so much as offers counseling or referrals for legal
abortions -- with its own money. That policy has resulted in closed clinics
and the depletion of contraceptive supplies across the developing world.
These provisions will be difficult to defend against the opposition of the
right-wing House leadership and the White House, but today at least, we can
be gratified that the Senate understands the importance of UNFPA and the
need to get rid of the Global Gag Rule.
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