Helms Amendment

The Helms Amendment, also known as the Helms Amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act,[1] is a 1973 amendment, passed by the U.S. Congress in the wake of the Roe v. Wade decision by the United States Supreme Court, to limit the use of US foreign assistance for abortion.[2] Named after North Carolina senator Jesse Helms, the amendment states that "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."[3] The amendment allows for post-abortion care.[4]

Despite its focus on "abortion as a method of family planning," American global health funding programs, such as USAID, currently interpret the Helms Amendment language to exclude funding for abortion services in cases not connected to family planning, such as rape, incest, or to save the life of the woman.[1][2][3]

Several pro-life groups support the current interpretation of the Helms Amendment to exclude abortions for rape or incest, considering it an important ban on "taxpayer-funded abortions."[5] C-FAM, a Catholic organization, notes that "giving a rape exception to the ban on abortion funding will further stigmatize and therefore harm children born of rape who are already vulnerable."[6]

Several pro-choice and human rights organizations, including Planned Parenthood,[2] the Global Justice Center,[7] Population Action International,[8] the Center for Health and Gender Equity,[9] Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International USA have pressured United States President Barack Obama to mitigate what they consider the harmful effects of the Helms Amendment. Population Action International, for example, notes that since the Helms Amendment restricts US funds for abortions "as a method of family planning," abortions "conducted as a result of rape, incest, and abortions to save women’s lives, are eligible for U.S. support."[8] The Center for Health and Gender Equity has worked closely with human rights and faith-based organizations in calling on President Obama to take executive action on the Helms Amendment for women raped in conflict.[10] And, more than 100 Members of Congress also have called on President Obama to take action.[11]

During the 2016 Democratic Presidential Primary, candidates (former) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) each pledged that as President they would take executive action on Helms and work to repeal the Amendment entirely.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 "Abortion Restrictions in U.S. Foreign Aid: The History and Harms of the Helms Amendment". 2013-09-23. Retrieved 2016-06-29.
  2. 1 2 3 "Helms Amendment Hurts Women Worldwide". www.plannedparenthoodaction.org. Retrieved 2016-06-29.
  3. 1 2 "Helms Amendment | U.S. Foreign Policy & Funding | The Issues | CHANGE". www.genderhealth.org. Retrieved 2016-06-29.
  4. ↑ "USAID's Family Planning Guiding Principles and U.S. Legislative and Policy Requirements". www.usaid.gov. Retrieved 2016-06-29.
  5. ↑ Crockett, Emily (2016-02-12). "Both Clinton and Sanders want to help rape victims abroad by changing this major policy". Vox. Retrieved 2016-06-29.
  6. ↑ "Hillary Clinton: U.S. Should Fund Abortions Around the World as a Method of Family Planning". LifeNews.com. Retrieved 2016-06-29.
  7. ↑ "Clinton and Sanders commit to fund abortion worldwide by gutting the Helms amendment". Retrieved 2016-06-29.
  8. 1 2 "Helms Hurts: It's Time to Fix this Broken Policy - PAI". Retrieved 2016-06-29.
  9. ↑ "CHANGE: Center for Health and Gender Equity". genderhealth.org. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
  10. ↑ Bassett, Laura. "This U.S. Policy Drives Rape Victims Worldwide To Undergo Grisly Abortions". Retrieved 2016-09-06.
  11. ↑ "Democrats Urge Obama to Address Needs of Rape Survivors in War Zones". Roll Call. 2015-10-26. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
  12. ↑ Reporter, Laura Bassett Senior Politics; Post, The Huffington Post Ryan Grim Washington bureau chief for The Huffington (2016-02-11). "Clinton And Sanders Make Major Pledge On Abortion Policy". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
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