When talking about Reproductive Rights we focus mainly on the laws, and regulations put in place to keep and restrict them. These legislations are supposed to be made in order to benefit the woman who need them, but who is really making these laws and for what purpose?

Should men be allowed to have a say in a woman’s Reproductive Rights?

Trumps administration has been taking swings at woman’s Reproductive Rights for the past few years, and their not the only ones. 13 men are in charge of making healthcare decisions for woman all across America, and this can be extremely problematic. The 13 men in charge of writing the GOP healthcare bill had little to no interest in the needs of women or the voices of the advocates who spoke their opinion on the plans the bill put in place. Defunding planned parenthood, forcing mothers to pay thousands for basic maternity care, and allowing states to stop providing essential health benefits were just a few suggestions made in the first few drafts of the bill, and it didn’t stop there. Frankly, the GOP healthcare bill was an attack on woman everywhere and with no representation in the making of the bill, woman found it increasingly harder to have their voices hears. The lack of representation of women is a major issue in all areas of the government, but when faced with issues on women’s rights it seems naive to assume that woman should not be taking the lead on this one. The fact is men (especially wealthy, white men in politics) are put at little to no disadvantage when the healthcare needs of women are obstructed. Therefore we need someone at ground zero weighing in and advocating for the rights of women across the country who are fighting to have their voices heard. We allow men to make decisions for women too often, in more than just the GOP bill or healthcare issues. We can’t stand idly by as woman lack representation in a space where we deserve a seat at the table.

“Those 13 men cutting backroom deals about your healthcare access clearly didn’t want to hear from you, so make sure they do now,”- Senator Patty Murray

 

How does Americas reproductive rights affect people of color? 

It is a fact that a dispriportionate amount of people of color utilize services such as Planned Parenthood, and free healthcare options to gain items such as birth control. As our current administration attempts to halt access to necessary items through local, free services these communities are a direct target. In addition to this, the history of reproductive rights for women of color in this country is bleak. Unwanted sterilization, and pressuring have been forced upon them for years. It is terrifying to know what once happened, and what cotinues to occur in our country that slides by with so little notice. Please take the time to watch this short video about “The Racist Roots of Reproductive Rights in America”.

 

 

Global Gag Rule:

In 2001 President GW Bush implemented the Global Gag Rule for the second time. Over the course of the 8 years it was in place many developing countries who once relied on the support of the US suffered greatly. Countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East lost all US donated contraceptives, and many organizations were forced to shut down entirely. Two days after the Women’s March on Washington, Trump announced that the Global Gag Rule would once again be reinstalled. The current global gag rule requires that all international health insurance and services receiving aid from the US are not using US, or non-US funds to promote or give abortions.

Due to the fact that the implication of Trump’s version of the Gag Rule is somewhat new the immediate effects are difficult to see. However, many people have made predictions as to what we may see in the future, such as:

• Because the US is the largest global donor on health, the rule is likely to undermine progress on improving health.
• Women and girls in about 60 low- and middle-income countries will have less access to contraception, resulting in more unintended pregnancies, and more—often unsafe—abortions.
• The restrictions will cause easily preventable maternal deaths, both due to unsafe abortion and to an increase in unplanned pregnancies in places where rates of maternal mortality are already high.
• Health programs that lose US funding may have to cut services linked to newborn, infant and child health, including vaccinations; prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis (TB); and nutrition programs.
• The restriction makes needed health funds the instrument to curtail the speech and activities of activists and health providers in other countries, preventing them from sharing health information with patients about abortion or discussing potential reforms to abortion laws without losing their US funds.

(https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/02/14/trumps-mexico-city-policy-or-global-gag-rule#)

If you want to learn more or learn  about what you can do visit:

https://www.istandwithpp.org/gag-rule?_ga=2.239033475.267467863.1544485495-1888582570.1536016726

 

Gag Rule

The Trump-Pence administration proposed an amendment to Title X last May known as the “Gag Rule”. Much like my last post states, the Gag Rule effectively shuts off any and all funding to institutions that provide abortions under Title X. However, under the Gag Rule, this issue becomes even more serious. In order to recieve government funding, not only can institutions no longer offer abortions, but healthcare providers can not supply their clients with information on where or how to recieve a safe abortion. Essentially this act allows doctors and healthcare providers to withhold information on the options a patient has when faced with an unwanted pregnancy.

Unsafe Abortions

Decreasing access to abortions and information can be detrimental to the health of women. Evidence supports the fact that a Gag Rule would significantly increase the number of unsafe abortions in the US. Easy access to safe, cheap (or free) abortions has significantly declined the rate of unsafe abortions in the US over the past few decades. However, as a safe abortion becomes harder to recieve woman are faced with little other options. Removing essential’s such as Planned Parenthood, and Title X will increase the rate of unsafe abortions in the US.

Want to learn more? Visit

https://www.istandwithpp.org/gag-rule?_ga=2.239033475.267467863.1544485495-1888582570.1536016726

What is Title X?

Title X was enacted in 1972 under the Public Health Service Act, and today provides services to over 4 million people. Every day people rely on Title X for basic health care services, such as cancer screenings, birth control, STI and HIV screenings, as well as sexual education.

Fun Facts!

Overall, publicly funded birth control services — including Title X — help women avoid 1.9 million unintended pregnancies, including 440,000 teen pregnancies, every year.\

Title X has undoubtedly saved women’s lives with early detection of cancer through its affordable Pap tests and breast exams.

Title X also saves taxpayers money. For every dollar invested in publicly funded family planning programs like Title X, the government saves $7.09 in Medicaid-related costs.

Why is the US defunding such an awesome system?

Most of the reason the US wants to defund Title X stems back to -you guessed it- Planned Parenthood. Title X is essentially what keeps Planned Parenthood running, as it supports the necessary screenings and medicines that they provide. Without Title X it becomes increasingly hard for programs such as Planned Parenthood to continue running, which consequently means that woman from lower income communities will suffer as they lose access to essential healthcare.

Want to help? Read more and donate!

https://www.hhs.gov/opa/title-x-family-planning/index.html

“I would defund it because of the abortion factor, which they say is 3 percent. I don’t know what percentage it is. They say it’s 3 percent. But I would defund it because I’m pro-life.” – Donald Trump, 2015

In the past year of Donald Trump’s presidency, he has made his distaste for planned parenthood adamant in his campaign. As a “pro-life” candidate he claims to be concerned that government funding is fueling women to choose abortions and that this funding consequently must be shut off. In the 2018 budget report, Donald Trump requested that the US government deny funding to any and all groups that perform abortions, even if the money itself does not fund these procedures. In reality, federal funding can not actually be used to pay for a women’s abortion under the Hyde Amendment, except for instances of rape, incest or immediate danger to the parent or child. Denying funding to Planned Parenthood does little to stop the average woman from obtaining an abortion. The money that is withdrawn from this institution actually affects the lives of woman’s healthcare on a daily basis, as for many women Planned Parenthood is their primary source of healthcare. This institution is a  major resource to low income and underserved communities, helping them navigate and advocate the world of reproduction. It is essential that we continue this program as “every day, more than 8,000 people walk through those doors to get birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, and safe and legal abortion.” With the absence of these services many women will suffer, and as a result, all Americans will suffer as well. We can not allow so many women to go silently as they fight alone for their right to receive essential care. The time is now!

Looking for a way to help? read more or donate! https://www.plannedparenthood.org