For almost 50 years the Helms Amendment has prevented women abroad from getting the abortion care they need. Most people are not familiar with this piece of legislation. The language the Helms Amendment uses is “no foreign assistance funds may be used to pay for the performance of abortion as a method of family planning or to motivate or coerce any person to practice abortions.” Many family advocates argue that this amendment should be repealed altogether. However, the problem with the amendment right now is interpretation.
Under the Helms Amendment, U.S. foreign funds are supposed to cover abortion in cases of rape, incest, and when the mother’s life is endangered. However, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is currently interpreting the Helms Amendment as a complete ban for the use of foreign funds for abortion. Because of this, women who are raped become pregnant as a result of incest, or are at risk of dying from pregnancy complications because they are not able to receive abortion care.
Many family planning advocates have advocated for the amendment to be reinterpreted. Although women abroad could receive treatment from another source other than U.S. foreign aid, sometimes those abortions can be difficult to attain. In the United States, one of the most developed countries in the world, getting an abortion can be incredibly difficult. In developing countries, it is even harder. Women sometimes have to travel days on foot to clinics. Because of the Helms Amendment, clinics funded by United States foreign aid will not provide abortion care services. This means that the woman will have to travel even further, and sometimes another clinic is too far away for the woman to reach so she will have to continue the pregnancy.
Women in conflict areas encounter even harder obstacles to getting abortion care. Many terrorist organizations use rape as a weapon of war, increasing unwanted pregnancies. In these cases where the United States is helping with the conflict they still cannot provide abortion care. And since these women are living in areas of conflict clinics may be closed or destroyed making getting an abortion by other means more difficult.
All of the above problems could be solved by a simple fix. The reinterpretation of a policy that was meant to protect women abroad. If you are appalled by the treatment of women, tell President Obama to reinterpret the Helms Amendment. As the executor of the laws of the nation he would be responsible for the reinterpretation of the Helms Amendment. Women have a right to abortion care especially in cases of rape, incest, and when their lives are in danger. Stand up for women and learn more about how Helms hurts here.
