NEW YORK, July 16, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- As protests
continue to follow President Trump throughout his European trip, he
faced a pregnant version of "himself" today. Pregnant "Trumps,"
gagged women and scores of activists staged a street performance in
Helsinki's Senate Square today
during the Trump & Putin summit. More than a protest of the US
President, organizers had a message for Americans as the
administration makes plans to roll-out the gag rule in the US:
"Beware of the Gag Rule, we've seen its devastating impact."
The protest is against the Mexico
City policy aka the "Global Gag Rule," which the Trump
administration re-instated and drastically expanded further than
any previous Republican administration. Healthcare experts say tens
of thousands of women have died or been injured and millions more
could be left without access to life-saving healthcare services in
developing countries.
Despite the fact that there is a ban prohibiting the use of
federal funds for abortion, more than 1,000 bills have already been
passed in the U.S. preventing doctors from providing referrals and
severely limiting women's access to information. Currently in the
US, 20 million American women rely on healthcare from publicly
funded clinics. The Trump administration seeks to enact the Gag
Rule in the U.S. by applying the same restrictions to Title
X-funded organizations that serve 4 million women.
Trump's expanded terms of the rule prohibit all global health
funded doctors and recipients from providing information, qualified
referrals, associating with providers or advocating for safe
services -- even with their own funding. This includes
organizations that prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, malaria, diarrheal
diseases, tuberculosis and promote maternal and child health.
Independent protest organizers M4ID launched #resistgag after
seeing the devastating effects first-hand in their work in
Asia and Africa. "We are using our creative forces to
get some vital attention on this largely unknown policy," said
Jennifer Paavola, Creative Director
at M4ID. "The fact is women are dying every day and many are losing
access to healthcare as a result of the Global Gag Rule. We hope
with more awareness this attack on women could come to a stop."
Date: July 16, 2018, 1pm CES
Place: Senate Square, Helsinki
Photos/Video Available Here
Data points on impact and details of US proposed changes
attached.
SOURCE M4iD