The Australian government is considering lifting its restriction on foreign aid that prohibits groups receiving funds from Australia from providing abortion counseling, services or training. The Australian gag rule, which has been in place for 12 years, makes Australia the only other country besides the US to maintain such a policy, reports the Associated Press.
Julie Munday, Asia-Pacific regional CEO for the reproductive rights group Marie Stopes International, noted that Australian women have access to state-subsidized abortions, adding that the gag rule is “quite an arrogant stance to assume that what’s good for Australians isn’t necessarily good for women overseas,” according to the Daily Women’s Health Policy Report.
Ms. Magazine investigates the deadly consequences of the Global Gag Rule for women in developing countries in the cover article in the Winter 2008 issue.
