ELECTION 2008 | Obama Likely To Reverse Some Bush Administration Family Planning, HIV/AIDS Prevention Policies, Adviser Says
[Nov. 11, 2008]

President-elect Barack Obama likely will undo U.S. family planning and HIV/AIDS prevention efforts that long linked funding to antiabortion and abstinence-only policies, Susan Wood -- co-chair of Obama's advisory committee for women's health and a professor at George Washington University's School of Public Health and Health Services -- said recently, Bloomberg reports. Wood resigned her position at FDA in 2005 in protest over the agency's delay in clearing the emergency contraceptive Plan B for over-the-counter sales. Wood said that although President Bush's global health programs -- such as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief -- have brought more HIV/AIDS treatment to developing countries than under any other president, spending requirements for abstinence-only education have hampered family planning and the prevention of sexually transmitted infections worldwide.

"We have been going in the wrong direction, and we need to turn it around and be promoting prevention and family planning services and strengthening public health," Wood said. She added that Obama "is committed to looking at all this and changing the policies so that family planning services -- both in the U.S. and the developing world -- reflect what works, what helps prevent unintended pregnancy, reduce maternal and infant mortality, prevent the spread of disease."

Wendy Turnbull, a senior policy analyst with Population Action International, said that because of the "Mexico City" policy many family planning associations that rejected the terms of the rule "lost funding ... lost technical assistance and ... lost contraceptives," Turnbull said. The policy restricts U.S. international foreign aid to family planning programs abroad using their own funds to provide abortion services or lobby their governments regarding abortion rights. Under the basis of the policy, Bush also halted support for the United Nations Population Fund in 2002, saying it supported "coercive" abortion programs in China, an allegation the agency has denied, Bloomberg reports.

In addition, Bush administration policies restricting condom education have been cited for hindering STI and HIV/AIDS prevention efforts, according to Bloomberg. Gill Greer, director-general of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, said CDC has pulled some condom information from its Web site. Greer said, "The U.S. administration has certainly succeeded in demonizing condoms rather than showing that they can be part of prevention of both unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections."

Valerie Huber -- executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association -- said that the Bush administration's emphasis on abstinence and fidelity has "been shown to have demonstrable success in Africa," adding, "It would be more than unfortunate if that policy was changed." According to Huber, both Republicans and Democrats have cited support for PEPFAR's focus on abstinence and education, which has reduced the spread of HIV in countries such as Uganda. "If the president-elect wants to be science-based in foreign sex education policies, it would be wisest to continue this way because it's shown to be effective," Huber added.

According to Wood, the U.S. government in recent years has influenced and "tightly vetted" international organizations to reflect its own policies. She added that Obama will bring "back a sense of balance and perspective and the use of good science and good medicine in these positions, and not just this narrow, political ideology" (Gale/Lauerman, Bloomberg, 11/10).





The information contained in this publication reflects media coverage of women’s health issues and does not necessarily reflect the views of the National Partnership for Women & Families.

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