Obama Repeals Global Gag Rule

One of the clearest things I remember about my time working at Planned Parenthood was the rejoicing that happened when Clinton repealed Bush, Sr's global gag rule order. Although I was no longer working for Planned Parenthood by the time W. re-enacted his father's gag order, I despaired at the number of women worldwide who were going to have their access to safe and legal information about abortion restricted or completely taken away.

Checking the news before bed tonight, I actually scared my cats reacting to the news that Obama has overturned the Mexico City Policy.

I realize that there are people in the reading audience who will be disappointed by this news, and will work to continue having it placed back into effect. And personally, my concern was never so much about the abortions being provided (or not), as it was my issue with the fact that NGO's were forced to choose between discussing the full range of care options for a pregnant woman or losing their funding from the US government. I haven't been where these NGOs work, and I can't even pretend to know what they see, daily, in the lives of the women they treat. But I know that medical abortions are necessary around the world, and I know that there are situations and reasons for choosing abortion in these countries that I might never fully comprehend. A woman should have the right to a full and open, honest discussion of all of her options with her health care provider, regardless of where she lives in the world. That honesty should not be a privilege only granted to those lucky enough to live in a first world country.
-Kelly Hills

Moreno named to Obama Transition Team

News alert: Women's Bioethics Project advisory board member Jonathan D. Moreno has been named to President-elect Obama’s transition team. Dr. Moreno will be leading the President's Council on Bioethics Review Team. You can read the official announcement here. This is excellent news for the field of bioethics, science policy, and progressive values. Congratulations to Dr. Moreno and we look forward to working with him to ensure that women’s voices, health concerns, and unique life experiences strongly influence ethical issues in health care and biotechnology.

A Refreshing Change: A Code of Ethics in a Presidential transition...

[Hat tip to Dr. Matt Wynia, director of the American Medical Association Institute for Ethics for bringing our attention to this one]

Any who has attended an ASBH meeting knows that one of the issues that has been hotly debated among members in the last few years is whether or not bioethicists should have a code of ethics to which they agree to adhere to retain membership -- it is just one step towards setting standards, obtaining public trust, and promoting transparency. Well, it looks like the Obama transition team beat us to punch:

"At an afternoon press briefing in the Transition Team offices for President-elect Barack Obama, transition team co-chairman John Podesta said this would be “the most open and transparent transition in history” and released a set of rules that lobbyists working on the team will be required to abide by.

The list of rules include the following: Lobbyists working with the team -- a list of whom will be released -- are prohibited from doing any lobbying during the transition; someone who becomes a lobbyist after working on the transition is prohibited from lobbying the Administration for one year on matters for which they worked; and anyone who has lobbied in the last year is prohibited from working in the policy areas for which they lobbied. Transition team members will be subject to a “gift ban,” and Podesta also indicated they would need to sign an ethics code.

"These are the strictest ethics rules ever applied," said Podesta, who served as Bill Clinton's chief of staff for the last two years of his administration. Asked why they would keep lobbyists from working on policy areas for which they're deeply knowledgeable, Podesta said: "I've heard the complaint that we're leaving all these extra people on the side, that we're leaving all the people that know everything out in the cold. So be it. That's a commitment that is one the American people expect and one the President-elect made."