Women’s rights advocates are hopeful this week as President Barack Obama officially began his term as the 44th president. President Obama is expected to advance women’s rights by issuing executive orders which will rescind the Global Gag Rule and release United Nations Population Fund funding.
The Global Gag Rule (also known as the Mexico City Policy), which we blogged about here, prohibits any family planning programs receiving U.S. federal funding from speaking about or counseling on abortion.
In addition, President Obama is expected to release money for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), a UN program that deals with family planning choices, education and services for people around the world. President Bush denied federal funding for this program for the last seven consecutive years. To learn more about the United Nations Population Fund, check out this website.
At the domestic level, President Obama is expected to sign into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act. Both bills recently passed the House of Representatives. We previously blogged about the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act here. The Paycheck Fairness Act (PDF), which was introduced by Sen. Hillary Clinton and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, intends to strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963.
Via Feminist Majority
