
The Global Gag Rule and Women's Reproductive Health
Rhetoric Versus Reality
Yana van der Meulen Rodgers(Author)
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 3. January 2019
Book
Hardback
232 pages
978-0-19-087612-8 (ISBN)
Description
Foreign assistance by the United States is tangled with domestic politics, and perhaps this is most clear in relation to funding for health and family planning. The long arm of U.S. domestic politics has reached the intimate lives of women all over the world because it has threatened major cuts in funding to healthcare organizations in developing countries if they perform or promote abortions. This "global gag rule," so-called because to even mention abortion endangered funding, has been a hallmark of Republican administrations since it was first enacted by President Ronald Reagan. When Donald Trump reinstated and expanded the policy, there was popular uproar and a firestorm of debate. Proponents of the policy emphasize the importance of reducing the number of abortions globally and claim that the gag rule will be effective in achieving this goal.
In this innovative book, Yana van der Meulen Rodgers argues that the gag rule has failed to achieve its goal of reducing abortions, in fact the restrictive legislation likely has increased unsafe abortions, and because the reduction in funding is indiscriminate there are negative repercussions across a range of health outcomes for women, children, and men. While proponents of the policy rely on ideology, Rodgers provides systematic analysis of how the global gag rule affects women's reproductive health across developing regions, grounded in a conceptual framework that models the complex factors that influence women's decision making about fertility. She also traces the background to American policy, the evolution of international family planning programs, the links between contraceptive access and fertility rates, and the relationship between restrictive abortion laws and abortion rates. And because Rodgers provides a rounded perspective on factors influencing women's decisions on reproduction and abortion, she offers a constructive and cost-effective approach for U.S. family planning assistance that targets integrated reproductive health services.
In this innovative book, Yana van der Meulen Rodgers argues that the gag rule has failed to achieve its goal of reducing abortions, in fact the restrictive legislation likely has increased unsafe abortions, and because the reduction in funding is indiscriminate there are negative repercussions across a range of health outcomes for women, children, and men. While proponents of the policy rely on ideology, Rodgers provides systematic analysis of how the global gag rule affects women's reproductive health across developing regions, grounded in a conceptual framework that models the complex factors that influence women's decision making about fertility. She also traces the background to American policy, the evolution of international family planning programs, the links between contraceptive access and fertility rates, and the relationship between restrictive abortion laws and abortion rates. And because Rodgers provides a rounded perspective on factors influencing women's decisions on reproduction and abortion, she offers a constructive and cost-effective approach for U.S. family planning assistance that targets integrated reproductive health services.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 145 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
424 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-087612-8 (9780190876128)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Yana van der Meulen Rodgers
The Global Gag Rule and Women's Reproductive Health
Rhetoric Versus Reality
E-Book
10/2018
OUP eBook
€32.99
Available for download

Yana van der Meulen Rodgers
The Global Gag Rule and Women's Reproductive Health
Rhetoric Versus Reality
E-Book
10/2018
OUP eBook
€32.99
Available for download
Person
Yana van der Meulen Rodgers is a Professor of Women's and Gender Studies at Rutgers University, and she teaches courses and conducts research in labor studies, health economics, and development economics. Dr. Rodgers served as President of the International Association for Feminist Economics in 2013-14, and she has served as an associate editor for the journal Feminist Economics since 2005. She has also worked regularly as a consultant for the World Bank, the United Nations, and the Asian Development Bank. Dr. Rodgers earned her PhD in economics from Harvard University.
Author
Professor, Womens & Gender Studies DepartmentProfessor, Womens & Gender Studies Department, Rutgers University
Content
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
2. Global Gag Rule: Politics and Scope
3. U.S. Assistance for Family Planning: History and Objectives
4. Fertility and Contraceptive Use
5. Global Abortion Policies and Practices
6. Impact of the Global Gag Rule: New Estimates
7. Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
1. Introduction
2. Global Gag Rule: Politics and Scope
3. U.S. Assistance for Family Planning: History and Objectives
4. Fertility and Contraceptive Use
5. Global Abortion Policies and Practices
6. Impact of the Global Gag Rule: New Estimates
7. Conclusion
Bibliography
Index