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ACCESS DENIED AROUND THE WORLD
- Nicaragua has recently approved a sweeping new law banning all abortions in the country with no exceptions, even if the pregnant woman's life was endangered by carrying the pregnancy to term. Nicaraguan law previously allowed for abortions to be performed only if three doctors certified that the procedure was necessary to protect the woman's life, if the fetus had grave, lethal abnormalities, or if the woman was a victim of rape or incest. Any medical personnel who performs an abortion or any woman who receives one faces a six-year prison term. For the 400 Nicaraguan women each year who suffer ectopic pregnancies, this new law would be a death sentence.
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For over four years now, President Bush has withheld the annually appropriated $34 million in family planning funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), denying millions of women around the world access to basic reproductive health care--including birth control, prenatal care, and information and services to prevent HIV/AIDS. The UNFPA funds withheld by President Bush for family planning services around the world totals now to approximately $160 million.
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The U.S. has refused to sign the Cairo Consensus, a United Nations document that seeks to “ensure universal access to reproductive health and services, uphold fundamental human rights including sexual and reproductive rights alleviate poverty, secure gender equality, and protect the environment” around the world.
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International organizations that are eligible for U.S. funding for family planning must promise not to provide or refer for abortions, not to advocate for less restrictions on abortions, and not to educate women about abortion in their clinics—even in countries where abortion services are legal and the organizations use their own money to provide these services. This is known as the global gag rule.
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