Huffington Post: Instruments of Oppression
“…The text of the Helms amendment only states that no U.S. foreign assistance money ‘may be used to pay for the performance of abortions as a method of family planning.’ … Obama could simply issue an executive order clarifying that the law has exceptions … or he could publicly direct the head of the USAID to start writing the exceptions into its contracts. … So far, though, the Obama administration has been unwilling to change the policy. Until that happens, women who are raped and become pregnant in developing countries and conflict zones are often unable to get a safe abortion. To understand what this means for a rape victim, how U.S. policy can warp an entire country’s health system and the course of a woman’s life, the best place to begin is Kenya…” (Bassett, 12/3).