Reproductive Rights

hen I took office, I abolished the Gag Rule. I abolished the ban on fetal tissue research. I appointed Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the Supreme Court, who’s made a career of fighting for the rights of women and believes in the constitutional right to choose. I have gotten the United States back into the effort to control worldwide population growth, which is an important human issue, not through abortion, but through basic contraceptives, something the United States had walked away from before.”

—President Bill Clinton

President Clinton believes that decisions about abortion should be between a woman, her doctor, and her conscience.

He continues to protect women’s health and safety and the right of women to make their own reproductive choices by:

	Reversing the Gag Rule during his first week in office. This provides women who use federally funded clinics with the information they need to make informed reproductive choices.
	Signing the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which is now being implemented by the Department of Justice to fight violence and intimidation against women and their doctors and ensure clinic safety.
	Repealing the “Mexico City Policy” to reverse 12 years of attacks on reproductive choice for women around the world. The policy banned distribution of family planning funds to overseas organizations that perform abortions or provide counseling on reproductive choice.
	Supporting Medicaid coverage for abortion services for poor women who are the victims of rape or incest and for those whose lives are endangered. These services were banned during the Reagan and Bush Administrations by the “Hyde Amendment” to the appropriations bill that funds Medicaid.
	Increasing funding for family planning to help women reduce the risk of unintended pregnancies. This makes family planning information and contraceptives available to millions of women who might not otherwise receive reproductive and other health care services.
	Making teenage pregnancy prevention a top priority. To continue bringing rates down, the Administration is working to instill a greater sense of personal responsibility in young people for the consequences of their behavior, while providing increased opportunities for education, jobs, and their future so that they are more likely to make the right choices. President Clinton’s challenge to the private sector to address the high rates of teen pregnancy has prompted the formation of a National Campaign to Reduce Teen Pregnancy. This effort aims to marshal private resources across the country to effectively reduce teen pregnancy rates by one-third in 10 years.
	Encouraging adoption, including adoption of children with special needs, and reducing the amount of time children spend in foster care. President Clinton strongly supports the adoption tax credit as a way to make it easier for families to adopt. During this Administration, there has been a 60% increase in the number of children with special needs adopted with federal assistance. The President also strongly supported the Multiethnic Placement Act to remove the barriers facing adoptive parents so that more children live in loving and safe homes.
	Fighting for welfare reform that promotes work and responsible parenting. In May 1996, the President took executive action to require teenage mothers to stay in school and sign personal-responsibility contracts or lose their benefits.

Building on Our Progress

President Clinton will continue to protect women’s health issues and the constitutional guarantee of a woman’s right to choose.

	He will remain committed to fighting any legislation that violates this guarantee or that endangers women’s health and safety.
	In April 1996, the President vetoed legislation banning a certain kind of abortion procedure because it failed to protect women from serious threats to their health. Although the President opposes use of the procedure on an elective basis, he believes it should be available when there are serious and adverse health consequences for the mother, and only in the small number of compelling cases where its use, in the medical judgement of a woman’s physician, is necessary to preserve her life or avert serious damage to her health. The President has clearly stated that if Congress passes a bill with a narrow exception that allows use of the procedure when necessary to prevent death or serious health consequences, he will sign it.
	The Administration will further continue to work to reduce the numbers of unintended pregnancies, to support domestic and international family planning, and to champion programs that break down barriers to adoption.

Meeting Our Challenges Protecting Our Values