Day of Action: Monday, December 18
Overview
This Sunday, December 17th, marks the 50th anniversary of the Helms Amendment. Since 1973, the Helms amendment has restricted U.S. foreign aid from being used to support abortion “as a method of family planning.” It has been over-implemented as a total ban on the use of foreign aid to support abortion under any circumstances. For fifty years, this racist, neocolonial policy has tied the hands of government officials, U.S.-funded grantees, and reproductive health providers working to ensure access to safe abortion services for people overseas. The U.S. has been actively interfering in countries that have legalized abortion and denying legal health care to millions of people. In the past 30 years alone, 60 countries have liberalized their abortion laws, yet Helms stands in the way of this incredible progress. That is why we are calling for the full repeal of the Helms amendment on the 50th anniversary of this insidious restriction. The Abortion is Health Care Everywhere Act would remove the Helms amendment from the Foreign Assistance Act and replace it with proactive language stating that U.S. funding “may be used to provide comprehensive reproductive health care services, including the provision of abortion services, training, and equipment.” Below, please find social media guidance and additional background information. We hope that you join us!
Social Media Toolkit
Link to Repeal Helms website:
Hashtags:
Primary: #RepealHelms #HelmsAmendment
Secondary: #HelmsHurts #EndHelms #Helms
Third: #AbortionIsHealthcare #AbortionIsEssential
Handles:
SENATE
Senator Booker - Lead of the bill in the Senate @SenBooker
Senator Blumenthal - Co-lead of the bill @SenBlumenthal
Senator Hirono - Co-lead of the bill @MazieHirono
Senator Duckworth - Co-lead of the bill @SenDuckworth
Senator Smith - Co-lead of the bill @SenTinaSmith
HOUSE
Representative Schakowsky - Lead of the bill in the House @janschakowsky
Representative Lee - Co-lead of the bill @RepBarbaraLee
Representative Pressley - Co-lead of the bill @RepPressley
Representative DeGette- Co-lead of the bill @RepDianaDeGette
Representative Torres - Co-lead of the bill @NormaJTorres
Representative Strickland - Co-lead of the bill @RepStricklandWA
Tweets
50 years of the #HelmsAmendment is a half-century too long! It’s time to #RepealHelms and remove the imperialistic barrier to safe abortion that it presents in countries receiving U.S. foreign assistance. bit.ly/3NeUKqE
#Abortion is a critical part of comprehensive repro health care, but the #HelmsAmendment has been implemented as a ban on U.S. foreign aid for safe abortion, w/o exceptions. Congress must #RepealHelms & pass the Abortion Is Health Care Everywhere Act! bit.ly/460pd2s
Congress can end the #HelmsAmendment (the 50-year ban on U.S. foreign aid for safe, legal abortion) by passing the Abortion Is Health Care Everywhere Act. Doing so could prevent an estimated 17k maternal deaths from unsafe abortion each year. #RepealHelms bit.ly/3RGpkfG
If we put access to safe abortion out of reach, millions of pregnant people will turn to #abortion methods that aren’t safe. It is long past time for the U.S. to support safe abortion services and repeal the racist #HelmsAmendment. #RepealHelms bit.ly/46V09KG
🚨 It’s been 50 years since the #HelmsAmendment was passed. This unjust policy denies millions of people worldwide their right to safe abortion. We must #RepealHelms as an essential step towards building reproductive health and autonomy for all! repealhelms.org
US policies limit global access to safe #abortion services, even in countries where abortion is legal. The #HelmsAmendment strips abortion away from #ReproHealth care & it is Black & brown people worldwide who bear the burden of this discriminatory policy. repealhelms.org
People — no matter who they are or where they live — have the fundamental right to make decisions about their own bodies and health, because reproductive rights and access to safe abortion services are a human right. It’s time for Congress to #RepealHelms repealhelms.org
What the #HelmsAmendment does:
❌ creates significant barriers to safe & legal health care globally
❌ stigmatizes abortion
❌ undermines efforts to advance health, human rights & gender equality
It’s time to end this dangerous policy. #RepealHelms. bit.ly/41kzCFi
Media
OP-ED: President Biden says he’s fighting back against abortion bans. He’s ignoring the oldest one | Akila Radhakrishnan, Global Justice Center and Anu Kumar, Ipas
OP-ED: The Helms Amendment: 50 years of blocking safe access to abortion overseas | Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Ellen Gaddy (psychologist, political activist and granddaughter of the late Sen. Jess Helms (R-N.C.)
Resources
- ANALYSIS: Case for Permanently Repealing the Global Gag Rule and Helms Amendment | Guttmacher
- FACT SHEET: The Helms Amendment and the Global Gag Rule | Guttmacher
- FACT SHEET: Key Messages on the Harms of the Helms Amendment and the Case for Repeal | Ipas
- FACT SHEET: The Helms Amendment - How U.S. Foreign Policy BLOCKS Access to Safe Abortion Overseas | Ipas
- FACT SHEET: The Helms Amendment | Population Connection Action Fund
- H.R.1723 - Abortion is Health Care Everywhere Act of 2023 | Congress
- PODCAST: The Helms Amendment Hurts And It Needs To Go
- POLICY BRIEF: Support the Abortion is Health Care Everywhere Act | PAI
- S.929 - Abortion is Health Care Everywhere Act of 2023 | Congress
- The Helms Amendment and Abortion Laws in Countries Receiving U.S. Global Health Assistance | Kaiser Family Foundation
- VIDEO: Time to put lives over politics - Repeal the Helms Amendment | Ipas
Background
Every year, roughly 35 million women and girls around the world have unsafe abortions, and millions suffer injuries and disabilities as a result. The majority of these women live in low- and middle-income countries where access to safe abortion and other reproductive health services is often limited. The Helms amendment exacerbates this crisis.
Since 1973, the Helms amendment has restricted U.S. foreign aid from being used to support abortion “as a method of family planning.” It has been over-implemented as a total ban on the use of foreign aid to support abortion under any circumstances. For fifty years, this racist, neocolonial policy has tied the hands of government officials, U.S.-funded grantees, and reproductive health providers working to ensure access to comprehensive reproductive health care for people overseas.
The Helms amendment actively discriminates against poor Black and brown people women in communities around the world. Each day this policy exists, the U.S. tacitly contributes to maternal deaths and injuries from unsafe abortion.
The Helms amendment puts reproductive and economic freedom out of reach for millions, imposing this unjust policy on communities around the world. It prevents health care professionals from providing, and people from receiving, safe and legal abortion services in U.S.-funded programs and prevents patients from making decisions about reproductive services that are right for their individual circumstances and best meet their needs. The Helms amendment forces providers to distinguish between abortion and all other health services, meaning only those with means are able to access essential abortion care.
The Abortion is Health Care Everywhere Act would remove the Helms amendment from the Foreign Assistance Act and replace it with proactive language stating that U.S. funding “may be used to provide comprehensive reproductive health care services, including the provision of abortion services, training, and equipment.” It also includes a statement of policy that recognizes safe abortion as a critical component of comprehensive maternal and reproductive health care that should be made widely available and integrated with other types of health services, emphasizing that the U.S. should be working to end unsafe abortion and promote safe abortion. We know that repealing the Helms amendment will have a significant positive effect on the sexual and reproductive health of people everywhere. The Guttmacher Institute’s report on the Global Benefits of Repealing Helms estimates there would be approximately 19 million fewer unsafe abortions each year and 17,000 fewer maternal deaths each year.