The Truth About George W. Bush

Women's Rights

Women Fed Up With Dubya & His Policies
A national survey found that more women than men have turned against President Bush and the Republican party. The poll, conducted for EMILY's List by Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group and the Feldman Group in May, found that women are concerned about the war in Iraq, plans to change Social Security, and what they see as inappropriate political intervention in personal or family decisions. Although last fall an estimated 48 percent of women voters supported Bush, one-third of women surveyed who voted for Bush in 2004 said they don't intend to vote Republican in the 2006 congressional mid-term elections. Women favored Democrats over Republicans for Congress, 43 percent to 32 percent, which, combined with men's responses, would put Democrats ahead, 40 percent to 36 percent. Social Security was women's top concern, followed by Iraq, health care and education. Six in 10 women favored improved international diplomacy to fight terrorism, while 25 percent advocated hunting down suspects to "defeat them before they can strike us." Women said they were more concerned about the decline of morality and family values with the next generation than economic problems. But when they were asked who should be the arbiter of values, most women and men said abortion, sexuality and religious issues should be left to individuals, not government.
Source, Capitol Hill Blue, "Women Fed Up With Dubya & His Policies," Margaret Talev, June 23, 2005

Proposed Budget Cuts College Readiness Programs for Low-Income Young Women
Although President Bush vows to leave no child behind, his proposed 2006 federal budget and the budget resolution passed by Congress in April does just that—by calling for a cut of over $500 million from the Department of Education. These budget cuts stand to particularly impact female teens. "Since women make up a disproportionate share of low-income students, they will be particularly affected by planned cuts to the Perkins Program, TRIO and GEAR UP," said Jacqueline King, director of Policy Analysis at the American Council on Education. About 61% of the students who stand to lose the Upward Bound and Talent Search programs are female, according to the Washington-based Council for Opportunity in Education. The Council says the budget cuts will leave female teens across the country without a lifeline to higher education.
Source: Women's E-News, "Budget May Cut College Dreams Short," Kara Alaimo, May 29, 2005

Bush Administration Admits that Sliding-Scale Social Security Benefit Cuts Harm Women and Children
The Bush Administration recently acknowledged that its proposed sliding-scale benefit cuts to Social Security would apply not just to retired workers with earnings over $20,000 per year, but also to their widows and surviving children. Even widows whose own earnings were less than $20,000 could have benefit cuts—which will affect an estimated 70 percent of retired workers and their families, according to the National Women's Law Center.
Source: National Women's Law Center, "Private Accounts Would Dismantle Social Security Safety Net: Lawmakers Must Examine the Particular Impact of Private Accounts on Women and Families," May 17, 2005

Bush Administration Drops the Ball on Women's Collegiate Sports
On March 18, 2005, the Bush administration released a clarification to Title IX, the 1972 federal law that requires equal opportunity for women and girls in education and sports. The clarification allows schools to show compliance with Title IX even if they do not provide equal funding and opportunity for women's sports, provided they show that their female students do not have the same level of interest in sports as the male students. The change also allows schools to avoid a 1996 guideline that states that multiple factors should be used in determining the level of student interest in sports. This clears the way for schools to use a flawed email survey of their female students to duck their Title IX obligations.
Source: National Women's Law Center

Bush Administration Considers Weakening FMLA
Enacted under Clinton, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) guarantees eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for a serious illness, to care for a seriously ill family member or to care for a newborn or newly adopted child. This important legislation allows workers to avoid having to choose between family and job. Opponents of FMLA - the very groups that fought the law's original passage 12 years ago - are reportedly pressuring the Bush administration to weaken the law by eliminating some of the circumstances in which employees may take unpaid leave and by restricting the use of intermittent leave. Though the Department of Labor reportedly has denied plans to propose these changes, it has said it will make changes to regulations governing notice for leave time.
Source: National Partnership for Women and Families

Bush's Mercury Emissions Plan Does Little to Help Women and Children
The Bush administration's plan to curtail mercury emissions is less stringent than many environmental groups had hoped. The plan will allow the coal-burning power plants that are responsible for dangerous amounts of mercury being released into the environment to buy and sell emissions credits as they see fit and as their budgets allow. Mercury is a poisonous metal that has been found to harm the developing nervous systems of infants and fetuses along with women of childbearing age.
Source: The New York Times, "Bush Plan to Permit Trading of Credits to Limit Mercury", Felicity Barringer, March 13, 2005.

U.S. Delegation Impedes Progress at Beijing Plus 10
2005 marks the tenth anniversary of the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, at which the U.S. signed the Beijing Platform for Action, a landmark international agreement that committed governments to promoting women's freedom of political participation, increasing their access to education, employment, and health care, and protecting their human rights. When 6,000 delegates gathered in New York in late February 2005 for a two-week conference taking stock of progress on the Beijing platform, the U.S. delegation interrupted the first order of business by trying to amend the one-page platform with anti-abortion language. The U.S. delegation eventually withdrew the stance, but reportedly only after they felt they could declare victory because they had convinced enough other nations to agree with them.
Sources: Women's Enews, "U.S. Engages in Tug-of-War at Beijing Plus 10," March 7, 2005, Allison Stevens; BBC.com, "US sparks row at UN over abortion," Feb. 28, 2005; Washington Post, "U.S. Drops Abortion Issue at U.N. Conference," Colum Lynch, March 5, 2005; Newsday, "In U.S. world policy, women lose out" March 10, 2005, Sheryl McCarthy

Bush Addresses Anti-Choice Marchers
During the annual "March for Life" in January, Bush spoke with anti-choice marchers who descended on Washington D.C. In a message broadcast to the marchers, Bush promised that his administration was working to foster a "culture of life" through legislation like the so-called "partial birth" abortion ban and the "Unborn Victims of Violence" Act. Bush also told the marchers that a U.S. without abortion is slowly coming into view. "We're making progress in Washington," Bush said.
Sources: The White House, "President Bush Calls "March for Life" Participants," Jan. 24, 2005; National NOW Times, "Second Term Could Mean the End for Roe," Winter 2004/2005.

Bush Enacts Domestic Gag Rule
In Dec. 2004, Bush signed into law the so-called "Abortion Non-Discrimination Act" (ANDA) as an amendment to the final version of the $388 billion omnibus appropriations bill, an important piece of legislation that dictates how much money goes to various government programs each fiscal year. The amendment, originally proposed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, will impact U.S. reproductive healthcare in the same way that the global gag rule weakened international reproductive health services. Under ANDA, Medicare, HMOs, private insurance companies and hospitals can bar doctors from providing abortion referrals, performing abortions or even counseling patients about their options—even if the patient asks for the information. Anti-choice Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., added the two-sentence clause to the 3,000-page appropriations bill in a closed-door session. A number of senators argued against the amendment, but a continued debate would have held up the budget for numerous other government-funded programs. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., assured the opposing senators they would have an opportunity to repeal the provision in the spring. However, with Republicans controlling 55 of the Senate's 100 seats in the new Congress, a reversal of the amendment is highly unlikely.
Sources: Planned Parenthood, "So-Called 'Abortion Non-Discrimination Act' Threatens Women's Health," Dec. 9, 2004; Women's Enews, "California Sues U.S. Over Budget's Abortion Ban," Rebecca Vesely, Feb. 7, 2005; Reuters, "California Fights Anti-Abortion Law," Jan. 25, 2005

Bush White House Perpetuates the Wage Gap
With new leaked White House salary figures and an Excel spreadsheet, crack Washington Post researcher Margot Williams determined in July that men in the Bush White House earn an average of $76,624 a year, and women earn $59,917 on average. That means Bush women are paid about 78 cents for every dollar that Bush men earn—similar to the wage gap that still exists between men and women throughout the U.S. (In 1963, women employed full-time in the U.S. were paid, on average, only 59 cents to the dollar received by men; in 2001 women were paid 76 cents for every dollar received by men.) At the White House, the gap is the result of the predominance of men in highest-paid jobs; 12 of the 17 White House staffers earning $157,000—the top of the pay scale this year—are men. Men and women are paid similar salaries for similar work, says The Post, but fewer women hold top positions.
Sources: "Leaked Salary List Shows Bush's Highest Paid Staff Mostly Male," Dana Milbank, Washington Post, July 13, 2004; "White House Salary List Released," Ken Herman, Cox News Service, July 13, 2004; National Organization for Women, "Pay Equity: A Long Overdue Step in the Road to Equality," April 9, 2003.

Bush & Co. Policies Mean Fewer Jobs for Women
1.3 million jobs have disappeared since the recession began 38 months ago in March 2001, inaugurating the only period of sustained job loss for women in the past four decades. Women workers lost more than 300,000 jobs between the start of the recession in March 2001 and March 2004. Even though the past three months have seen what the Economic Policy Institute's JobWatch.org calls "healthy gains," the group says it would be a mistake to attribute these gains to the Bush administration's tax cuts, which took effect in July 2003 with the stated goal of creating of 5.5 million new jobs by the end of 2004. In fact, since the tax cuts took effect, the U.S. has seen the greatest sustained job loss since the Great Depression.
Sources: "Labor Market Experiences Third Month of Healthy Job Growth," JobWatch.org; "Record-Breaking Job Loss Continues for Women, Three Years After Start of Recession," Institute for Women's Policy Research, June 2, 2004; "Bush Administration's Tax Cuts Not Fulfilling Job Creation Promises," Economic Policy Institute, June 2004; "Greatest Sustained Job Loss Since the Great Depression," Economic Policy Institute, June 2004

Bush Administration Remembers Reagan as Breaking Ground for Women
At a June awards luncheon for women in government, Lynne Cheney invoked the struggles of suffragists and late former president Ronald Reagan. The Gipper, a feminist champion? In the early 1980s, polls found that many women held the opposite view. "I realize that historians have not usually thought of him as a man who broke way for women," Cheney said, departing briefly from her prepared text at the Library of Congress. But she listed some of his appointments, including her own as the first female chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, to make the case. Reagan named Margaret Heckler secretary of health and human services, Ann Korologos secretary of labor, Elizabeth Dole secretary of transportation and Jeane Kirkpatrick ambassador to the United Nations. Cheney called these appointments "a record for that time." As a kicker, she noted that within one year of Reagan's inauguration, he nominated Sandra Day O'Connor to the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, sharp readers remind us that Reagan "legitimized racism, intolerance, homophobia, attacks on the environment and women's rights, corporate greed and corruption and more scandals per week than any other administration until Bush and his cronies came along. Reagan was an unmitigated disaster ... the media seems to have been infected with Alzheimer's when it comes to the disgraceful legacy of a boorish bigot." As Truthout.org pointed out back in April 2004: Ronald Reagan was the first to issue the global gag rule that yanked vital funding from women's health clinics worldwide.
Sources: "Spinning One for the Gipper," Washington Post, June 10, 2004; "Reagan Remorse," Contra Costa Times, June 18, 2004; Truthout.org, April 25, 2004

FDA Responds to Political Pressure, Rejects Over-The-Counter Emergency Contraception
Overruling the advice of its own scientific advisors, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on May 6 rejected over-the-counter sales of emergency contraception (EC), prompting NOW and other critics to accuse the agency of responding to political pressure from the Bush administration. In December, two FDA scientific panels voted 23-4 in support of making EC available without a prescription. Afterward, the agency was subjected to political pressure from conservatives who argued that increased access to EC would encourage teenagers to be sexually active. While acting drug chief Dr. Steven Galson denied that politics played a role in his decision, women's rights advocates said otherwise. "The FDA is playing politics with women's lives and contributing to the deterioration of public health in this country," NOW President Kim Gandy said. "The FDA has set aside its mission and caved to political pressure from the Bush administration and its allies who oppose birth control." Barr Laboratories, makers of the Plan B emergency contraception brand, plan to rapidly seek approval for nonprescription sales for people aged 16 years and older. "It's a matter of weeks and months to deal with this objection," said Barr chief executive Bruce Downey, saying that means the FDA could reconsider the issue within a year. "Clearly ... the door's open, and we plan to go through it."
Sources: "FDA May Reconsider Morning-After Pill," Associated Press, May 8, 2004; "Politics Triumph in FDA Battle over Morning-After Pill," National Organization for Women, May 6, 2004; "U.S. Rejects Wider Access to Morning-After Pill," Lisa Richwine, Reuters, May 6, 2004; "U.S. Rules Morning-After Pill Can't Be Sold Over the Counter," Gardiner Harris, The New York Times, May 7, 2004

Bush Administration Deletes Women's Issues Information from Government Websites
The Bush administration has quietly deleted and altered information on women's issues from government agency websites, a research group has found. A report from the National Council for Research on Women (NCRW), released in mid-April, says the deletion of information on subjects including pay equity and childcare was "apparently [done] in pursuit of a political agenda." At least 25 publications were removed from the website of the Department of Labor's Women's Bureau alone. Some items that were not deleted were reportedly altered: For example, information about the use of condoms to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases was changed to say that the effectiveness of condoms was "inconclusive." The National Cancer Institute's website was changed in 2002 to say studies linking abortion and breast cancer were inconsistent; an outcry from scientists resulted in an amendment to say abortion is not associated with an increased risk. The NCRW report also indicated that key government offices such as the Office of Women's Initiatives and Outreach in the White House and the President's Interagency Council on Women have been disbanded, with attempts made at the Pentagon to disband the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services. Finally, the report found that as of March 2004, Attorney General John Ashcroft had failed to conduct and publish a study required under the Violence Against Women Act to investigate discrimination against domestic violence victims in getting insurance.
Sources: "U.S. Deletes, Alters Gender Issue Web Data," Deborah Zabarenko, Reuters, April 28, 2004; "MISSING: Information About Women's Lives," The National Council for Research on Women, March 2004.

Bush & Co. to Women: Male Lawmakers (Not You or Your Doctor) Know What's Best For You
On Nov. 5, George W. Bush signed into law the most significant restriction on abortion in the 30 years since Roe v. Wade. Accompanied by a cadre of men, Bush delivered what House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called "a slap in the face to women across America" by signing the so-called Partial Birth Abortion Ban. Pelosi, angered by the celebratory nature of the bill-signing event, decried the gathering as "a group of men celebrating depriving women of a medical procedure that could save their health and their lives." Opponents of the ban hope that this will be "a wake-up call to voters who support abortion rights."
Sources: Washington Post, "Bush Signs Ban on Late-Term Abortions Into Effect," Nov. 6, 2003; San Francisco Chronicle, "Bill-Signing Photo Angers Pelosi: Men Surrounded Bush When he OKd Limits on Abortion," Nov. 8, 2003; New York Times, "In Anti-Abortion Campaign, One Leap for Incrementalism," Nov. 6, 2003

Ashcroft's Civil Rights Division to Enforce Abortion Procedures Ban
Adding insult to injury, the Bush administration has given the civil rights division of the U.S. Department of Justice the task of enforcing the dangerous new ban on abortion procedures. Despite the fact that three federal judges have already blocked enforcement of the law (a nearly identical state law was declared unconstitutional just three years ago), the Justice Department, under John Ashcroft, said it "will continue to strongly defend the law ... using every resource necessary." The decision to charge the civil rights division rather than the criminal division with enforcement of the law has provoked outcry. Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee accused Ashcroft of "perverting the federal government�s role in promoting civil rights." In a letter to Ashcroft, House Democrats said "it is Orwellian that you would have the civil rights division enforce a law which has been essentially found by the Supreme Court to violate the civil rights of millions of American women." Groups opposing abortion rights see gaining civil rights for fetuses as another step towards the eventual overturn of Roe v. Wade.
Sources: Associated Press, "Government Promises to Defend New Abortion Law," Nov. 7, 2003; The Guardian, "Fury at Bush's Civil Rights Policing of Abortion Ban," Nov. 8, 2003

Bush Administration Goes After Non-Profits That Oppose His "Abstinence Only" Policy
Salon.com reports that "some nonprofit organizations that don't agree with the Bush administration's 'abstinence only' philosophy" have been "repeatedly investigated by the government, while faith-based groups get a free pass." Advocates for Youth, a national nonprofit that provides teens with comprehensive sex education, had never in its 18 years as a federal grantee been subject to an audit by the government. Over the past year it has been subjected to three. The organization claims that "it's being unfairly targeted because of its negative views towards the administration�s abstinence-only education policies." Their claims are supported by a leaked Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) memo published by the Washington Post in July 2001. The memo describes Advocates for Youth as "ardent critics of the Bush administration." And Advocates for Youth are not the only ones being targeted. Three reviews have been conducted over the past 10 months of San Francisco's STOP AIDS program. The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SEICUS) has undergone two audits this year. While Advocates for Youth, STOP AIDS, and SEICUS have all "come through their audits with flying colors," last year a number of faith-based organizations receiving federal grants were found guilty of misusing government money. For example, a number of sex-education programs funded by Louisiana Governor Mike Foster's Program on Abstinence "were found guilty in a federal court of openly violating the constitutional tenet of separation of church and state." However, none of these Louisiana nonprofits have been subject to an HHS audit. James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth says, "Our complaint is not with getting audited" but "with the selective and political nature of these audits. Ideology is invading—if not subverting—science within the Department of Health and Human Services."
Source: Salon.com, "No Sex, Please—Or We'll Audit You," Oct. 28, 2003

Bush's Posturing on Sex Trade Meets Skepticism
The Associated Press reports that human rights groups were skeptical about President Bush's demands that foreign nations crack down on the international sex trade, saying the problem can only be solved by addressing root causes like poverty and poor education. In his recent speech to the United General Counsel, Bush ended with warnings about the dangers of the trade in sex slaves. In a sleight of hand, Bush said that the U.S is committing $50 million to organizations that give shelter and medicine to exploited women and children, but did not say whether that money was new or already allocated. Jodi Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Health and Gender Equity, said the U.S. has not done enough to fight related issues like AIDS. The Bush administration has promised $15 billion for five years to combat AIDS, but part of the AIDS bill will deny funds to any group or organization working with female prostitutes that do not have a policy explicitly opposing prostitution, a provision rights groups oppose. "You cannot straitjacket the groups that are working with trafficking survivors," says Ritu Sharma, executive director of Women's Edge Coalition.
Source: Associated Press, "Bush Stand on Sex Trade Meets Skepticism," Sept. 24, 2003.

Bush Reinstatement of Gag Rule Resulting in Deaths, Disease Globally
Women's eNews reports that the global gag rule "has led to closed clinics, cuts in healthcare staff and dwindling medical supplies, leaving women, children and families without access to vital healthcare services." This policy, reinstated by President Bush in 2001 as one of his first acts in office, prohibits any organization receiving population funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development from using those or other funds to provide or promote abortion. The gag rule also led to shortages in contraceptives due to large cuts in funding to organizations that refused to sign the rule. By 2002, the gag rule had cut off shipments of USAID-donated supplies to 16 developing countries, because the only recipients in those countries were members of the International Planned Parenthood Federation which lost $20 million in USAID funds because it refused to comply with the policy. Condoms procured with HIV/AIDS funds are not subject to the rule, but critics of the rule say that, in practice, organizations that refused to sign the rule have not been able to get funds earmarked for HIV/AIDS prevention. Hillary Fyfe, chair of the Family Life Movement of Zambia, asserts, "I think they are killing these women, just as if they are pointing a gun and shooting. There is no difference."
Source: Women's eNews, "Report: Global Gag Rule Spurring Deaths, Disease," Sept. 25, 2003.

Bush Expands Global Gag Rule
President Bush issued an executive memorandum over the Labor Day weekend expanding the global gag rule to include family planning funds administered by the U.S. Department of State. The "global gag rule" is a policy that denies United States family planning funds to any international organizations that perform abortions or refer patients to abortion services, even with their own funds. Bush's latest action extends the gag rule to all assistance for voluntary population programs funded through the State Department. The Center for Reproductive Rights reports that "this drastic expansion means that more of the world's most vulnerable women, including refugees, will be denied basic health care services."
Sources: Executive Memorandum, "Assistance for Voluntary Population Planning," August 29, 2003; Center For Reproductive Rights, "Expanded Global Gag Rule Limits Women's Rights and Endangers Their Well-Being," Sept. 5, 2003.

UNFPA, Condemned by Bush Administration, Loses Additional $50 Million in U.S. International Family Planning Funds
With a narrow majority, the House of Representatives voted to block $50 million in international family planning funds to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), based on the unsubstantiated argument that the program supports China's coercive population control policy. The Bush administration and some GOP lawmakers disparaged UNFPA—a program which provides millions of dollars to promote contraception, as well as safe birthing and child care practices for poor women in more than 150 countries—saying that it violates U.S. law by supporting China's "one child" policy, which they claim sometimes entails coerced or forced abortions. Yet UNFPA officials assert that the program does not promote abortion, and an investigative panel convened by Bush last year reported that there was no evidence that UNFPA promotes coerced abortions or involuntary sterilizations in China. Despite the panel's findings, the Bush administration withdrew $34 million from the program in 2002 and did not request any funding for the program in Bush's 2004 budget. As a result of the House vote, it appears that UNFPA will not receive any funding this year either.
Source: Washington Post, "House Blocks Family Planning Funds," Juliet Eilperin, July 16, 2003

House Votes to Ban Safe Abortion Procedures; Bush Has Repeatedly Promised to Sign Bill into Law
In what could become one of the most significant restrictions on abortion in decades, the U.S. House approved the so-called Partial-Birth Abortion Ban bill, H.R. 760, on June 4. In his 2003 State of the Union address, Bush urged Congress to give him a bill he could sign, and has repeatedly promised to sign the legislation, which passed the Senate earlier this year in a slightly different form. The bill would ban an array of safe, common abortion methods used in the second or third trimester of pregnancy, and provides no exception for the woman's health. A number of abortion rights groups, including the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the National Abortion Federation, have said they will immediately file suit to block the legislation once the president signs it.
Sources: Washington Post, "House Votes to Restrict Abortions," Juliet Eilperin, June 5; New York Times, "House Bans an Abortion Method," Robin Toner, June 5; Associated Press, "Abortion Bill Approved By House," Jim Abrams, June 5.

Bush: Discrimination Against Women Not As Serious As Racial, Ethnic Discrimination
At a recent press conference, George W. Bush indicated through White House spokesperson Ari Fleischer that he does not consider discrimination against women to be an offense as serious as racial or ethnic discrimination. According to Fleischer, membership in a group that excludes women is not "a disqualifying factor" for candidates to Cabinet posts. However, when prodded, Fleischer stated that racial or ethnic discrimination is a "very different category for the President."
Sources: PR Newswire, "Press Briefing by Ari Fleischer," Dec. 11, 2002; Federal Document Clearing House, "Ari Fleischer Holds White House Briefing," Dec. 9, 2002

Bush Attempts to Confer Personhood on Embryos
The Bush administration changed the mission of the Advisory Committee on Human Research Protection—which oversees the safety of human research volunteers—to include embryos. Although the committee can only advise the Department of Health and Human Services to offer embryos the same federal protections offered to fetuses, children and adults, many consider this move the latest in Bush's attempts to confer personhood on embryos and fetuses. According to the Washington Post, many have "called the move an inappropriate political and religious intrusion." The modifications potentially limit embryo research, which scientists expect could provide cures for a number of degenerative diseases.
Source: Washington Post, "New Status for Embryos in Research," Rick Weiss, Oct. 30, 2002

Validity of Charges Against UNPFA Questioned by Knight Ridder Investigation
Debunking Bush & Co.'s trumped up charges against the United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA), an investigation by Knight Ridder has raised more questions about the validity of claims made by the Population Research Institute (PRI) that UNPFA knowingly supported China's coercive family planning programs. The allegations made by PRI—which is headed by anti-abortion and anti-family planning Steven Moshe—led to Bush's July withholding of more than $34 million in funds that Congress had appropriated for UNPFA. The administration recently announced that it would transfer the $34 million to a United States Agency for International Development program that aims to improve children's health in other countries.
Sources: Associated Press, "Bush Transfers U.N. Population Funds," Scott Lindlaw, Sept. 30, 2002; Knight Ridder, "Small Advocacy Group Influences American Policy," Jodi Enda, Sept. 22, 2002

Administration Withdraws Funding for Family Planning
The White House announced it plans to withhold $34 million appropriated by Congress for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), a decision that according to many observers will cost innumerable women and children their lives. Conservative extremists claim that UNFPA supports China's coercive abortion and sterilization programs, although a State Department investigation found no evidence to back those claims. UNFPA estimates the lost funds will translate to two million more unwanted pregnancies, 800,000 more abortions, 4,700 more dead mothers and 77,000 deaths of children under five.
Source: Agence France Presse, "U.S. Withdraws Millions from the UN Population Fund Over China Program," Stephen Collinson, July 22, 2002

Bush Administration Tries Underhandedly to Designate Fetuses as Persons
Bush's Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson, announced a scheme to promote fetal personhood, by designating fetuses as children eligible for funds under the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). While the Bush administration claims the move was fueled solely by a desire to extend prenatal care, activists expressed concern that the goal of Thompson's proposal is to undermine abortion rights. Activists also lamented that the Bush administration did not simply extend full prenatal health care to all pregnant women.
Source: Knight Ridder, "Bush Administration Ignites Abortion Debate with Health-Care Proposal," Jodi Enda, Feb. 1, 2002

Bush Addresses Anti-Abortion Protestors
On the 29th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Bush addressed anti-abortion rights marchers via cell phone, saying: "Everyone there believes, as I do, that every life is valuable; that our society has a responsibility to defend the vulnerable and weak, the imperfect and even the unwanted; and that our nation should set a great goal that unborn children should be welcomed in life and protected in law."
Source: The White House, "President's Phone Call to March for Life Participants," Jan. 22, 2002

Bush Declares 29th Anniversary of Roe "National Sanctity of Life Day"
Bush declared January 22, 2002, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, "National Sanctity of Human Life Day" in a proclamation that not-so-subtly likened abortion to terrorism. The proclamation stated: "On September 11, we saw clearly that evil exists in this world, and that it does not value life ... Now we are engaged in a fight against evil and tyranny to preserve and protect life."
Source: The White House, "National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2002," Jan. 18, 2002

Bush Nominee Declares Support for Reevaluation of Mifepristone
At his confirmation hearing, Bush's Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson, indicated that he would seek FDA re-evaluation of mifepristone (formerly known as RU-486, or the "abortion pill"). The Bush administration also restricted Medicaid funding for mifepristone to cases of rape, incest, or to preserve the pregnant woman's life.
Source: Newsweek, "The 'Abortion Pill': Not Stocked Here," Jane Spencer, June 19, 2001

Bush Tries to Eliminate Required Contraceptive Coverage for Federal Employees, Dependents
In the 2002 budget, Bush proposed eliminating required contraceptive coverage for female federal employees and for federal employees' dependents. Lawmakers in both houses of Congress indicated they would fight to keep a provision that requires federal health plan providers to offer federal employees the five birth control methods approved by the Federal Drug Administration. Andrea Brooks, director of the women's and fair practices department at the American Federation of Government Employees, called the proposal "extremely discriminatory."
Source: Washington Post, "Cut in Birth Control Benefit Of Federal Workers Sought," Ellen Nakashima, April 12, 2001

White House's Budget Would Cut Maternal, Child Health Programs
Bush's 2002 proposed budget seeks to cut the Maternal and Child Health Block Grants that provide health care to women before, during and after pregnancy, according to the House Democratic Policy Committee. The budget would also freeze the Healthy Start program, which has been shown to reduce infant mortality and morbidity.
Source: The White House Bulletin, "House Democrats Claim Bush Budget Devastates Spending For Children's Programs," March 21, 2001

Bush Reinstates Global Gag Rule
On his first day in the Oval Office, Bush reinstated the infamous Global Gag Rule, cutting off U.S. funding to international family planning organizations that offer abortion counseling or services with their own privately-raised funds, lobby the host government for abortion law reform, or disseminate information about abortion. The policy had been instituted under the Reagan administration in 1984 and had been overturned by President Clinton.
Source: Washington Post, "Bush Reverses Abortion Aid," Mike Allen, Jan. 23, 2001

Bush Supports Ban on Military Women, Dependents Abroad from Obtaining Abortions at Military Hospitals
Bush supports the policy that prohibits military women serving abroad, and their dependents, from obtaining safe medical abortions at military hospitals, even if they pay with personal funds. As a result of current policy, servicewomen must travel long distances for an abortion or have an abortion locally, which is extremely dangerous in some countries, especially the Middle East. They must also obtain permission from their commander, in another difficult hurdle, in order to take leave for the procedure.
Source: NARAL Pro-Choice America, "The Powers of the President: Reproductive Freedom and Choice"