It's that time again: 20 candidates will take the stage over the next two days for the second round of Democratic primary debates.

I've been glad to see the importance of domestic and international reproductive rights getting so much attention in the conversation--but broad statements aren't enough.

We need explicit and vocal commitments to specific policy solutions to guarantee everyone, everywhere has access to reproductive health care and family planning resources. That's why the three policy priorities below are so important to gauge just how serious candidates are about protecting reproductive health and rights around the world.

1. End the Helms Amendment.

The Helms Amendment currently bans U.S. foreign assistance funds from being used for abortion as a method of family planning--but it has always been interpreted as an all-out ban, including in cases of rape, incest, or threat to the pregnant person's health or life.

It's bad health policy. It's bad foreign policy. It's a relic of U.S. anti-abortion politics that is utterly divorced from the reality of the lives of the people it affects.

Helms prevents patients from accessing safe abortion--meaning that they're more likely to seek unsafe abortions performed by unskilled providers in unsanitary settings. Repealing the Helms Amendment needs to be a top priority of the next president.

2. Repeal the Global Gag Rule on day one.

Trump's disgraceful Global Gag Rule puts even tighter restrictions on foreign aid by barring international clinics from receiving U.S. funding if they even mention the word abortion. The cruel policy has decreased access to contraceptives and increased unsafe abortions, leaving people in the most vulnerable communities around the world at risk.

It has already wreaked havoc on clinics, patients, and providers around the world, and its deadly impact will continue to be felt as long as it's in effect. Everyone on stage over the next two nights needs to commit to repealing the Global Gag Rule on day one.

3. Support a robust increase in U.S. international family planning assistance, and restore funding to UNFPA.

For the third year in a row, the Trump administration blocked the U.S. contribution to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which provides critical reproductive health services in more than 150 countries, and is often the only health care provider in humanitarian settings such as refugee camps and emergency clinics post-natural disasters.

Investing in international reproductive health and family planning saves lives, strengthens communities and builds a better future for all of us. Withholding funding from UNFPA is a direct attack on reproductive freedom. And it threatens global efforts to alleviate poverty, protect the environment, and promote public health. Restoring funding to UNFPA is crucial to building a safer, healthier, sustainable world and must be priority for the next president.

It's plain and simple: In order to ensure people around the world have access to reproductive health care and family planning options, we need a president committed to critical and lifesaving solutions.

Follow along with us tonight, tomorrow, and through November 2020 to stay up to date on which Democratic presidential candidates emerge as leaders in the fight for reproductive freedom around the world: [link removed]

Onward,

Brian Dixon
Senior Vice President
Population Connection Action Fund

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