Women and Girls Raped in Conflict Need Abortion Care—but the US Is Standing in Their Way

[ismnotwasm]

2. From Planned Parenthood:

HELMS AMENDMENT HURTS WOMEN WORLDWIDE
The Helms Amendment has been restricting women’s access to much-needed health care for more than 40 years. It’s time for a change. Here’s why.

HISTORY OF THE HELMS AMENDMENT
When it got on the books: This policy was passed as an amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act in 1973 as part of a wave of anti-abortion backlash to the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision of the same year.

What it says: The amendment prohibits the use of U.S. foreign assistance funds for the performance of abortion “as a method of family planning.”

Its legacy: Since it was enacted, this harmful policy has restricted women in some of the poorest countries in the world from accessing vital, lifesaving health care they need.

Its Impact Today: This situation has been made even worse by the fact that U.S. global health programs are even more restrictive than what is required by law.

http://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org