In the negotiations over the Omnibus Spending Bill, the Democrats abandoned their effort to overturn the "Mexico City Policy" - which stipulates that no federal funding can go to groups that discuss or provide abortion services.  Like nearly all "incremental" anti-choice legislation pushed by conservatives, such as the Hyde Amendment, the Mexico City Policy does little to prevent unwanted pregnancy or abortion, and severely disadvantages poor women in the developing world, many of whom want to exercise their reproductive autonomy and for whom childbirth can be quite dangerous.

 To illustrate just how harrowing childbirth and pregnancy can be in the developing world, around 500,000 women in the developing world die during pregnancy or in childbirth every year, 70,000 in back-alley abortions. And not only do family planning and abortion services get shafted by the Policy, but the NGOs who provide contraception and discuss or provide abortion can't receive any government funding.  This means that, for example, two large scale distributors of contraception in Kenya had to shut down after losing government funding because their parent organization provided abortions in other countries. 

All the major Democratic presidential candidates have pledged to reverse the policy.

From NARAL Pro-Choice America:

"The global gag rule – reimposed on January 22, 2001 by President George W. Bush – prohibits the granting of U.S. funds to any overseas health clinic unless it agrees not to use its own, private, non-U.S. funds for: (1) abortion services, (2) abortion-related advocacy, or (3) abortion counseling or referrals."

The Global Gag rule is dangerous for women overseas because it limits the availability of family planning. And in countries with a high poverty rate and over population problems, women and their children die every year from the combination of pregnancy and poverty. Ethiopia is an unfortunate example of this. Without the resources for proper family planning, unsafe abortions and infant mortality rates increase.

Don’t be surprised if, when going to your student health center this year, you find yourself digging deeper and deeper into your pockets to refill your oral contraceptive prescription.  As the Associated Press reports, a change in a Medicaid rebate law (amended in a defecit reduction bill) has ended the incentive for drug companies to offer discounted pills to colleges.  What does this mean for the average student?  A prespcription that is twice, if not thrice as expensive.  The cost increase even affects generic brands.

The AP article mentions students and health workers at schools like Indiana University and Kansas State, which a number of working class students who are often supporting themselves, or even their children, while studying.  According to Hugh Jessup, executive director of the health center at IU, “It’s a tremendous problem for our students because not every student has a platinum card…Some of our students have two jobs, have children.  To increase this by 100 percent or more overnight, which is what happened, is a huge shock to them and to their system.”

Obviously, this does not bode well for reducing unplanned pregnancies at college campuses.  Also, as oral contraceptives can be used at times as emergency contraception, the ramifications for victims of sexual assault are also serious.  But, I guess it’s what I’ve come to expect from the government’s continued attacks and erosion of Medicaid…