Washington View, September 2024

Abortion Bans Evidently Aren’t Enough

House passes devastating Appropriations Bill

On June 28, the House passed the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2025 by a party line vote of 212–200.

The bill cuts funding for international family planning by 24%, bans funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), reinstates the Global Gag Rule, and restates the harmful and archaic Helms Amendment which denies aid for safe, legal abortion. House Republican leaders blocked floor amendments in support of family planning programs.

When the bill was considered by the Appropriations Committee, Reps. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Grace Meng (D-NY) each introduced amendments to eliminate bans on family planning funding. Congresswoman Lee’s proposed amendment struck a section that prohibited funding to UNFPA and any foreign non-governmental organization that performs or provides information about abortion. Further, it struck the expansion of the Global Gag Rule.

Congresswoman Meng’s amendment called for no less than $575 million in bilateral funding for family planning and reproductive health in FY 2025 and eliminated the ban on UNFPA funding. Like Congresswoman Lee’s proposal, this amendment would remove the codification of the Global Gag Rule. She said, “We cannot achieve US global health targets, address unacceptably high global maternal mortality rates, support healthy families, or promote gender equity if they cannot access family planning or contraceptive services.” Both amendments were defeated on party line votes.

Senate kills the Right to Contraception Act

On June 5, Senate Republicans voted almost unanimously to block the Right to Contraception Act, a bill that would protect access to contraception nationwide. The bill failed on a vote of 51–39, short of the 60 votes needed.

The Act would enshrine a federal right to obtain and use the contraceptives that best meet individuals’ needs. The bill prohibits any requirement that impedes the provision of contraceptive methods or information and protects relevant health care providers. Specifically, the Act forbids any government, federal or state, from prohibiting or restricting the sale, provision, or use of contraception. It further protects individuals who help others obtain or use contraception.

The past few years have indicated that the right to contraception is under palpable threat. In the Dobbs decision, Justice Clarence Thomas stated his intent to revoke Americans’ right to contraception with an explicit call to overturn the 1965 case establishing the constitutional right to birth control. In courts throughout the nation, we have already seen attempts to restrict access to essential methods such as emergency contraception and IUDs. The Right to Contraception Act would stop these extreme attacks on reproductive health care in their tracks.

After the bill failed in the Senate, House Democrats opened a discharge petition to bring it directly to a floor vote. Reps. Kathy Manning (D-NC) and Katherine Clark (D-MA) are urging their Republican colleagues to sign this petition and support Americans’ choice to use birth control.

Undeniable progress, but also shortcomings, since ICPD

It’s been 30 years since United Nations member states and representatives from civil society met in Cairo at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and agreed to its groundbreaking Programme of Action. It’s a cornerstone document which recognizes that investments in family planning are central to sustainable development.

On June 14, US Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra hosted an event to commemorate the 30-year anniversary of ICPD. He was joined by leaders from across the government and by representatives from non-governmental organizations. The Secretary noted the importance of the 1994 agreement and crucial advancements made since. Other speakers included Jennifer Klein, the Executive Director of the White House Gender Policy Council, and Dr. Natalia Kanem, the Executive Director of UNFPA.

While progress has been undeniable, it’s equally undeniable that the promise of Cairo has never been met. The agreement and the pledges were truly groundbreaking, but the promises have gone unfulfilled. And no country has fallen shorter than the United States.

Had funding simply kept pace with inflation since it peaked in 2010, today we’d be providing $1.03 billion — still shy of the $1.74 billion US “fair share” needed to address the unmet need for family planning of 218 million women in developing regions. Instead, current investment is $607.5 million, a cut of nearly 40% in today’s dollars.

Supreme Court fails to resolve two abortion challenges

The Supreme Court rejected two challenges to abortion access on technical grounds, setting up possible repeat cases in the future. First, the Court rejected an effort to undo updated FDA guidance on mifepristone by deciding that the organization filing the case lacked standing. Later, the Court sent a challenge to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) by the state of Idaho back to a lower court. By failing to decide the case on its merits, the Court simply pushed the decision into the future, after the upcoming election.