At 48 years old, the Helms Amendment is still wreaking havoc around the globe
The Helms Amendment got its inauspicious start on this date in 1973 (in direct response to Roe v. Wade). In 2014, I wished it a very unhappy birthday. Today, as the Helms Amendment turns 48, it would be easy to wax poetically cynical about the abhorrent fact that the sexual and reproductive health of millions of people is still dictated by such a draconian policy.
Instead, however, I will use this tiresome anniversary as an opportunity to talk about the damage this policy does, and why the only moral option for the U.S. is repealing it.
First, a bit of explanation. You’ve likely seen me post about the global gag rule–another neocolonialist policy that often gets confused or conflated with Helms. While both are globally damaging by imposing the extreme ideology of a vocal few into restrictive policies for sexual and reproductive health care, their mechanisms are quite different.
In a nutshell, the global gag rule reneges on critical U.S. funding for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) even if those organizations use their own funds to provide abortion services, information, counseling, referrals or advocacy. The policy has far-reaching harmful impacts, undermining access to a range of health services, including contraception, maternal health, and HIV prevention and testing, for communities already facing systemic barriers to care. Since the 1980s, the global gag rule has been repealed and reinstated at the whim of the political party of the President in power, adding instability to the already uncertain conditions where reproductive health care is needed by the most vulnerable. It is why Planned Parenthood Global is advocating so vehemently for its permanent repeal.
While the permanent repeal of the global gag rule and the repeal of the Helms Amendment are both critical to delivering sexual and reproductive health care access for all people, the lesser-known Helms Amendment does plenty of damage on its own.
Named for Sen. Jessie Helms (R-NC), the extremist and racist former legislator who introduced it, the Helms Amendment dictates that US foreign aid funding must not support “abortion as a method of family planning” and has been overimplemented as a total ban on funding for abortions under any circumstances.
By restricting the ability of individuals to make their own personal medical decisions and denying access to comprehensive reproductive health care, abortion is stigmatized, lives are put at greater risk and the advancement of sexual and reproductive health and rights is undermined. These reprehensible consequences are made more egregious by the fact that they disproportionately affect those in low-income countries where communities rely even more on the U.S. supported programs for health care and life-saving services the Helms Amendment impedes.
If you’re hoping for a light at the end of this decades-old tunnel, there is a glimmer of one. In March 2021, seven health care champions in the House of Representatives–Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Norma Torres (D-CA) and Marilyn Strickland (D-WA)–introduced the Abortion is Health Care Everywhere Act, critical legislation that repeals the Helms Amendment. It’s a bold move and we’re grateful for their leadership to remove policies that restrict sexual and reproductive health and rights. We hope more members will join in this effort.
It’s beyond frustrating to reflect on the nearly 50-year fight against the Helms Amendment–especially given that unsafe abortions are a global health crisis. In fact, due to restrictions, there are more than 35 million unsafe abortions worldwide annually, most which are preventable and occur in low and middle incoming countries. This unaddressed crisis accounts for roughly eight percent of maternal deaths.
Our nation should be ashamed that the Helms Amendment exacerbates that crisis by putting safe abortion care out of reach for those served by U.S. foreign aid programs.
Wouldn’t it be great if U.S. politicians chose to “celebrate” the Helms Amendment’s special day by acknowledging they have no business denying a person’s access to health services, including abortion, no matter where they live. Or, even better, wouldn’t it be great if they redoubled their efforts to advance U.S. policies that explicitly support access abortion in the U.S. and around the world. Wouldn’t it be great if the Helms Amendment never sees 50.