NEWSROOM

Washington, D.C.– The U.S. Senate today passed an amendment by Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) that would repeal the Global Gag Rule on international family planning assistance. The vote was 52-46.

“We are a country that believes in fairness, democracy, free speech, and improving the health and lives of people all over the world,” Boxer said. “But instead of promoting these values, the Global Gag Rule enforces a dangerous code of silence.”

The Boxer-Snowe Amendment repeals the Global Gag Rule, which President Bush established by executive order on his first working day in office in 2001. Also known as the Mexico City Policy, the Global Gag Rule denies U.S. international family planning assistance to organizations that use their own privately raised funds to counsel women on the availability of abortion, advocate for changes to abortion laws, or provide abortion services.

Boxer said, "At a time when we are trying to promote the best of our democracy abroad, the last thing we need is to export unconstitutional restrictions on free speech. It is not only hypocritical, but it is bad foreign policy."

In 2003, the Senate passed the same Boxer-Snowe amendment to the State Department Authorization Bill. The Senate never took final action on the bill.