January 2009
January 2009
January 23, 2009 – Three days into his term, United States President Barack Obama took an important step to improve women’s health by signing an executive order lifting the funding ban to international organizations which provide abortion services, education, or referrals. The "Global Gag Rule" reduced the availability of family planning services to millions of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable women over the past eight years. This shift in policy is a great victory for the reproductive health and rights community, and for women around the world. See the websites of several of our colleague organizations (Ipas, Engender Health, and CHANGE) for more about this policy change.