The Honorable Barbara Lee
U.S. House of Representatives
426 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative Lee:
The American Civil Liberties Union strongly supports your effort to overturn the global gag rule -- a dangerous, anti-democratic restriction on overseas family planning aid -- during tomorrow's mark up of the State Department Authorization bill.
As you know, the global gag rule prohibits foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that receive U.S. family planning dollars from using their own funds to perform certain abortion-related activities.
Your amendment ensures that foreign NGOs cannot be denied funding on the basis of the medical services they provide with their own money, including counseling and referral for abortion. It therefore embodies the fundamental principle of American medical ethics and health practice that health care providers must be free to supply patients with the comprehensive information they need to make appropriate decisions about their own care.
Your amendment also guarantees that foreign NGOs cannot be forced to sacrifice their right to use their own funds to engage in free speech as a condition of eligibility for U.S. development assistance. It thus ensures that the United States does not export an anti-democratic policy that would be unconstitutional if applied within our own borders.
The ACLU applauds your effort to ensure that international family planning aid is offered in a manner that is consistent with American values and that organizations that provide desperately needed family planning aid are not inappropriately disqualified from U.S. aid programs.
Sincerely,
Laura W. Murphy
Director
Gregory T. Nojeim
Associate Director and Chief Legislative Counsel