Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) made the following statement today in support of President Obama's order to lift the “Global Gag Rule.”

Senator Boxer said, “Now that President Barack Obama has repealed the Global Gag Rule, women throughout the world can breathe a sigh of relief and gain access to a full range of family planning services. The Global Gag Rule prevented organizations that receive U.S. assistance from spending their own privately raised funds to provide legal health care services to women. That policy was clearly a violation of basic freedoms. This is a new day for women – President Obama’s action will save thousands of lives as women throughout the world get access to healthcare they desperately need and want.”

Boxer has led the fight to overturn the Global Gag Rule in the Senate, most recently in 2005 and 2007 when her legislation was adopted by the Senate but never became law because of veto threats from President Bush. Boxer yesterday reintroduced The Global Democracy Promotion Act, legislation that, if enacted, would make the Global Gag Rule impossible to reinstate by Executive Order.

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