Senate Votes to End Global Gag Rule

As skeptical as I became this summer about Congress and our federal legislative process, I can recognize when Congress does something good.

In a reversal of the West Wing episode Privateers (Season 4- #83), the Senate passed its Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill with an amendment that would repeal the "Global Gag Rule,"--a provision which bans all money from going to foreign organizations that also provide women with abortions-- which was reinstated by Bush on his first day in office. Led by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME), the Senate accepted the amendment and voted for the bill (81-12), which also included over $5 bill to combat HIV-AIDS in developing countries.

Although the House version of the bill did not include this amendment, it did weaken the GGR, by "exempting contraceptives from the Global Gag Rule and repealing the abstinence-only funding restrictions for HIV prevention programs." Although President Bush has threatened to veto the Bill if these changes are included, we'll have to see a) what happens in conference and b) if he's bluffing or not.

In the West Wing episode, the tables were turned, and President Bartlet had to decide if he would veto a Foreign Ops bill that his Republican Congress had attached the Global Gag Rule to...in the end, I think he didn't do it, much to Abby's dismay. Despite everything I saw this summer, my trust falls with the real-life Democratic congress, and their ability to make some small incremental change successfully.