Last week, the US Senate took several important steps forward in supporting the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women, men, and young people in the Global South. While deficit reduction talks and threats of a government shut-down loomed over the US Capitol, the Senate Appropriations Committee carried on with business as usual and approved its annual funding bill for foreign assistance programs, including global health programs. In a direct repudiation of the House of Representatives’ ongoing ideological attacks on women, the Senate committee voted to fund international family planning and reproductive health programs at $700 million, which is $239 million more than the House proposed and $85 million more than current funding levels. The Senate committee-approved bill also sets aside $40 million of the $700 million for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which provides essential reproductive health services for women, men, and young people in 150 countries worldwide. This is in contrast to the House committee-approved bill which completely strips UNFPA of all US funding. This strong showing of support from the Senate is significant particularly given the tight fiscal climate and the intractable and bitter partisan battles of the 112th Congress.

In addition to funding, the Senate bill also included a few important policy provisions which support young women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced an amendment that would permanently repeal the Global Gag Rule, which was adopted on an 18-12 vote, including support from three Republicans (Senators Collins (ME), Murkowski (AK), and Kirk (IL)). The Global Gag Rule, also known as the Mexico City Policy, prevents foreign non-governmental organizations that receive US family planning money from using their own, non-US funds to provide legal abortion services, advocate for abortion law reform in their own countries, or even provide accurate medical counseling or referrals for abortion. Officially created through an executive order by President Regan in 1984, the Global Gag Rule is a perennial football that gets tossed back and forth with every change in power in the White House. While not currently in effect, without a permanent ban on reinstatement, there is nothing to prevent a future president from issuing another executive order bringing it back. This continual back-and-forth policy shift undermines young people’s access to reproductive health care, stifles free speech, creates a chilling effect on organizations, and jeopardizes young people’s lives in the name of pure ideology, plain and simple.

In a dual strategy to eliminate the Global Gag Rule, the Lautenberg amendment was bolstered by the reintroduction of the Global Democracy Promotion Act (S. 1585) the previous night by Senator Barbara Boxer of California. The bill, which has 18 additional cosponsors including Lautenberg, mirrors its House companion bill (H.R. 2639) introduced in late July by Representative Nita Lowey (D, NY-18) and 104 of her colleagues. Both bills would accomplish the same task as the Lautenberg amendment, ensuring that the Global Gag Rule could only be reinstated by an act of Congress, rather than the ideological whims of whoever occupies the White House. Stay tuned for opportunities to take action to secure additional support for both the House and Senate versions of the Global Democracy Promotion Act.

Meanwhile, one last item of note from the Senate’s foreign assistance funding bill: the committee approved language that would allow funding of abortions in the cases of rape, life endangerment, and incest for US Peace Corps volunteers serving abroad. Currently, there is an outright ban on funding for abortions within the Peace Corps, despite these limited exceptions existing across almost all other federal agencies. If enacted into law, this policy change would bring the Peace Corps in line with most of the rest of the federal government, creating consistency in coverage for Peace Corps volunteers and federal government employees.

In a climate where a cloud of darkness seems to be perpetually hovering over Congress, it’s important to take time out to recognize these glimmers of hope. While the only certainty we can expect over the next few months is more partisan bickering, the markers laid down by the Senate are a significant step forward in what will prove to be tough negotiations with the House. We’re still a long, long way from where we need to be and it’s advocates like all of you who help us raise the voices of young people in the US and in the Global South—voices that remind our politicians that they are gambling with young people’s lives.

Stay tuned for additional updates as these issues move forward.