The Fear of Mitt Romney
“Oh yes, we don’t sleep at night,” says Rosemary Onyando-Muganda, Deputy Director of the Kenya Department at PATH Global Health Organization, in reference to the possible election of Mitt Romney as U.S. President. Almost everyone working in the reproductive health sector articulates similar feelings, often followed by a shaking of the head and the statement: “I try not to think about that now.”
But where does this fear come from? The magic words here are Global Gag Rule. “Global Gag Rule” is the widely used expression for the “Mexico City Policy.” The policy was adopted under Reagan and stipulates that funds from the U.S. government are not allowed to be used to assist organizations that support terminations of a pregnancy. For example, carrying out safe abortions; counseling on this topic; or trying to persuade governments of its necessity are not allowed under the policy. Some exceptions have been made in the case of rape, incest, or if the mother’s life was at risk.
Under Clinton and now Obama this provision has been repealed, but with Romney it would most certainly be implemented again.
In Kenya, abortions were illegal until 2010, and many NGOs are still concerned. According to the new constitution, abortions are legal as long as at least one skilled health worker (doctors, nurses, midwives, and so on) confirms that the life or health of the mother is at risk. That’s where the gray area begins.
The reintroduction of the Global Gag Rule could have fatal consequences for many Kenyans. Onyando-Muganda explains that many clinics were closed during the last phase of this policy. There was also decreased access to contraceptives. It was not always clear what fell under the provision, and many organizations severely cut back on their services. Caroline Nyandat from the Kisumu Medical and Education Trust (K-MET) confirms that during the Gag Rule the number of unplanned pregnancies increased proportionately with the number of unsafe abortions--"backstreet abortions“--that took place.
Sam Owoko, also of K-MET, points out that even under Obama, funds to organizations like the Trust were explicitly not allowed to be used for anything related to abortions. In practice, this means a lab coat that was financed by U.S. government funds may be used if the patient receives medication to treat malaria, but not if she is seeking medical advice for an abortion.
Charlott Schönwetter, a feminist blogger for Afrika Wissen Schaft and Mädchenmannschaft, is writing from the International Reporting Project's reproductive health-themed trip to Kenya. This article was translated from German by Erica Cameron.
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