“During the first presidential debate, neither President [Barack] Obama nor [Republican presidential nominee Gov. Mitt] Romney addressed the issue that affects half the world’s population: women’s reproductive rights,” Musimbi Kanyoro, president and CEO of the Global Fund for Women, writes in the Huffington Post’s “Politics” blog. “As the two square off on foreign policy, women’s reproductive rights must be addressed because whomever becomes president will not only determine U.S. women’s personal, economic and educational choices, but also those of women worldwide,” she writes, adding, “The candidates’ positions on women’s reproductive rights couldn’t be starker.”

Kanyoro briefly discusses the candidates’ positions on the issue and continues, “Who becomes president in 2013, however, won’t just impact American women. In 2011, the United States contributed $648 million for family planning and reproductive care, making it the world’s largest donor.” She highlights the Mexico City policy, also known as the “global gag rule,” as an example of “how U.S. foreign policy has impacted women’s reproductive rights worldwide,” and goes on to discuss women’s access to family planning services and contraception globally. “By ensuring reproductive health to women whom need it will empower them and greatly improve the health and well-being of their children,” she writes, concluding, “The next U.S. president will determine which direction we go” (10/16).