Global Democracy Promotion Act Re-Introduced in the Senate

by Jen Nedeau

Published February 03, 2009 @ 04:26PM PT

Human Rights Watch shares this compelling piece by Alex Horne asking for Congress to try again with the Global Democracy Promotion Act and ensure that the Global Gag Rule is never re-instated. The Global Democracy Promotion Act (S.311) was just re-introduced in the Senate by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) on January 22nd. Given the current margins in Congress, this bill may finally have the support of the House this time around, which is where it failed twice before.

RH Reality Check summarizes the purpose of the Global Democracy Promotion Act as:

The Global Democracy Promotion Act would ensure that the United States cannot impose standards on organizations outside its borders that it would not stand for imposing within its borders. The legislation would allow funding for organizations that provide services that are legal in their own country and also legal in ours. The bill will end the punishment of health care providers that observe the same standards of medical ethics and seek the same freedom of speech that apply in the United States.

Passing the Global Democracy Promotion Act makes sense to me. I think that if you want to send dollars abroad, at least have the ability to send your democracy with it. Cutting off the ability of U.S. citizens to fund NGOs who provide these health services not only impedes our 1st Amendment rights to free speech, but also creates a very unstable situation for organizations who depend on American funding as Horne points out:

The full impact of losing these services on social and economic conditions in countries that receive American aid is hard to measure, but there is little doubt it contributed to unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions, increased the risk of HIV transmission and undermined HIV prevention messages.

It is even more difficult to quantify the effect of the funding instability on the effectiveness of the message these programs are sending on critical health care issues. Research from Human Rights Watch and elsewhere shows that family planning and other health programs depend for their success on trust between the service provider and the individuals who need help. When services are provided, then taken away, trust is breached and the effort is likely to suffer, even if services are later reinstated. This is particularly pertinent in an area as intimate as family planning. Service providers in other countries are now hesitant about receiving US funding again. They want and need guaranteed, condition-free funding to have a real impact.

Unfortunately, despite the repeal of the Global Gag Rule, it seems that conservatives will continue to try and undermine the President's authority until there is legislation that can stop it from being used as a political ping-pong ball:

On January 28, only five days after President Obama rescinded the Gag Rule, Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) tried to attach an amendment to a children's health bill in the Senate that would have nullified the presidential order. The amendment failed 60-37, with senators voting largely along party-lines.

I hope that as the 111th Congress continues to pass progressive legislation - granting women equal pay for equal work and offering health insurance for children - it will finally end the tug-of-war over women's health here and abroad.