NARAL Pro-Choice America Praises Senate for Overturning Bush's Global Gag Rule
NARAL Pro-Choice America Scores Vote on BOXER AMENDMENT
Washington, DC -- NARAL Pro-Choice America President Kate Michelman praised Senator Barbara Boxer and 53 Senators who voted for her amendment today overturning President George W. Bush’s controversial anti-family planning global gag rule.
"NARAL Pro-Choice America applauds all the Senators who courageously stood up for a women’s right to choose and right to contraception today. But pro-choice Americans will hold accountable those Senators who voted against the Boxer amendment and are now on record opposing contraception and a woman’s right to choose, " said Michelman.
"The Bush Administration’s global gag rule has made family-planning services -- which reduce the need for abortion -- harder for the world’s poorest women to access. This U.S. policy has forced some family-planning clinics to shut their doors; others are barely surviving without the USAID grants they received before. "
"This gag rule limiting a woman’s right to choose and right to contraception has been President Bush’s top priority from the very first day of his Presidency. We fully expect him to fight for it as the legislation progresses but every action he and the anti-choice forces take will further expose their anti-privacy, anti-contraception agenda to the American people."
The legislation now goes to conference with the House and Michelman warned that the Administration and anti-choice Congressional leaders will use all the powers at their disposal to dump the Boxer amendment and reinstate the controversial Bush ban on family planning.
Contact:
Jenny Backus or Deborah Bagocius at (202) 973-3032.
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