Alvaro: The End of GGR

Dear IPPF Members, Dear Friends,

Many of you watched with relief as we welcomed in a new Administration on Wednesday last week; a signal of great possibility for advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender justice. Friday, also marked the US Supreme Court ruling of Roe vs Wade, an anniversary that is often honored by a newly inaugurated Democratic President by repealing the global gag rule (GGR). 

Right now, we are watching; women are counting down the days. A single day of further suffering is too much, yet we retain hope and a watchful eye on a repeal now set for later this week, which Dr. Anthony Fauci confirmed to the WHO Executive Board last week.

It is expected that the President will launch a Presidential Memorandum this Thursday. It will include an executive action on the GGR and other SRHR related measures. The repeal will set the stage for a greater ambition that IPPF will actively support: ending the harm of the policy in the field and then a permanent repeal of the GGR, which will allow implementing organizations like ours to deliver services continuously, without having to mitigate the chilling effects or loss of revenue contingent on who is in power. Imagine what we could achieve without disruption? 

Since the initial expansion of the international family planning and global health assistance program we’ve not only witnessed incredible impact; but also – and most unfortunately – interference by a powerful group of US conservative legislators and increasingly a radicalized, violent opposition who’ve sought to control women’s bodies, and extended that control beyond US borders. Most infamously, we’ve had to weather the cycling of the GGR; the most lethal version we witnessed as it was expanded under the steer of the Trump Administration. But it does not have to be this way; and the community is coming together to ask the U.S. Government to build back better.  

A permanent repeal, which requires action by the U.S. Congress, is not a given; whilst much work has been done over the last few years, it will require all of us to mobilize the power of our Federation. We will need to work together. We must reach out to every US mission, to ensure that mission staff are proactively working to undo the global gag rule right now and prepared and poised to encourage this new Administration to champion the permanent end to the harms caused by the cycling of this policy, and review values and practice in their own missions.

The Secretariat is establishing a more focused presence in New York and Washington; working with our partners – especially with PPFA – to ensure we can more meaningfully engage with and influence discussions as critical as this one. We will be inviting you to engage with us on these efforts in the coming weeks, with a view to launching a Federation-wide day of action that would kick start community mobilization toward a permanent repeal. 

I want to also acknowledge all of the work you have done. You have remained so committed to offering comprehensive SRHR services and information during a global pandemic, through an increasingly hostile environment, and with the reduced funding as a result of the Trump Administration – I want to deeply thank you.

I trust our focus on a permanent repeal will bear fruit for these efforts. You have all advocated for change, and fought for women, girls and marginalized communities in the face of the impossible. We will leave no-one behind in our fight to protect and advance SRHR for all.

In solidarity,

Alvaro