Trump's Women's Health Statement Is Full Of Hypocrisy
BY LUCY WESTCOTT ON 5/15/17 AT 3:52 PM
President Donald Trump and standing up for women’s health aren’t two things you’d put together. Yet on Sunday night, Trump released a statement to mark Women’s Health Week, detailing how his 2017/2018 federal Budget will “enable access to the critical healthcare services women need.”
Published on Sunday night shortly after 6 p.m., the statement was easy to miss. National Women’s Health Week begins each year on Mother’s Day and is, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “a reminder to women to take care of themselves, and to make their health a priority.”
In his statement, Trump says: “We recognize the importance of providing women access to the best, evidence-based health information and care.” This might strike some as strange, given that one of the first things Trump did as president was sign an executive order barring federal funding for international organizations that discuss abortion as a family planning option. Known as the Mexico City Policy (because President Ronald Reagan announced it in 1984 during a United Nations population conference in Mexico City), and also called the “global gag rule,” Trump is the latest president to enforce it. (Democratic administrations have typically rescinded the policy while Republicans have reimposed it.) The January decision seemed symbolic of Trump's desire to show solid anti-abortion credentials from the very beginning of his presidency.
Trump’s statement Sunday was particularly poorly timed. On the same day as its publication, the Christian Broadcasting Network reported that Trump is seeking to expand the Mexico City Policy. The new law, called “Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance,” will reportedly provide nearly $9 billion to programs that discourage abortion and family planning.
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http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-womens-health-week-statement-hypocrite-609533
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