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A coalition of over 200 international civil society organizations, organized by Planned Parenthood Global and the International Planned Parenthood Federation, released a
A coalition of over 200 international civil society organizations, organized by Planned Parenthood Global and the International Planned Parenthood Federation, released a joint statement today calling for a permanent end to the U.S. global gag rule. The statement -- released as part of a week of action to end the global gag rule -- was released in Arabic, English, French, and Spanish, demonstrating the diversity of just some of the communities harmed by the rule over the past 37 years.
In addition to the over 200 organizations from 88 countries across six continents that signed the statement today -- and countless other people around the world -- 70% of Americans favor ending the global gag rule.
Tarah Demant, the director of the Gender, Sexuality, and Identity Program at Amnesty International USA:
"Ending the Gag rule forever is possible, it is urgent and it will make communities here at home as well as communities around the world much safer. It will also speed up the global recovery from COVID-19, advance global health, empower communities, and promote equity and human rights for all. Our lawmakers have an opportunity here and now to make certain that future presidents cannot reinstate the policy or interrupt life-saving health services ever again and now is the moment for them to seize that opportunity."
Dawn Laguens, interim executive director, Planned Parenthood Global:
"Study after study has demonstrated that the neocolonialist global gag rule devastates health care access for people around the world, especially those who already face systemic barriers to care. And yet, since 1984, the global gag rule has come and gone with each party shift in the White House. President Biden took an important step by ending this harmful rule for now, but real relief will not be felt until we can permanently end this devastating policy. The global community deserves true partnership from the U.S., but the threat that this destructive policy could reemerge undermines relationships and harms people around the globe. We come together today to tell the U.S. government: It's time to end the global gag rule once and for all."
Alvaro Bermejo, director general, International Planned Parenthood Federation:
"Since its inception, the global gag rule has been a constant threat to the lives of women and girls and their right to decide what happens to their bodies. Designed to deny people safe and legal abortion care, it has also caused unfathomable damage across the health care spectrum -- from HIV prevention and treatment to maternal health care. Our member associations on the front lines of care have witnessed this damage first hand. Whilst we applaud President Biden on rescinding the global gag rule, history has shown us that it is ready to be weaponized by coercive, anti-abortion administrations. We urge the U.S. government to break the violent cycle of the global gag rule permanently, so organizations like IPPF can provide life-saving health care without the fear of our ability to deliver being snatched away from us with the stroke of a pen. Together we can work toward a world where no one is left behind when it comes to their sexual and reproductive health and rights."
The global gag rule prohibits non-governmental organizations in other countries from receiving any U.S. global health assistance if they provide, refer, counsel or advocate for legal abortion in their country -- even if these activities are supported solely with non-U.S. funds. This cruel policy was originally imposed by the Reagan administration, before being rescinded in 1993 by President Clinton, and then reinstated in 2001 by President Bush on his first business day in office. President Obama rescinded the global gag rule in January 2009, but less than a decade later, President Trump reimposed and radically expanded the policy, extending its harm and devastation to even more women and communities. President Biden then rescinded the gag rule in a presidential memorandum signed on January 28, 2021.
Marginalized communities -- including women and girls, young people, and LGBTQ+ people -- have experienced the most devastating constraints on services as a result of the global gag rule. Tragically, this harm does not fully stop even when the policy is not in effect. According to the joint statement:
"The prospect of reinstatement under future administrations casts a long shadow and leaves the health and lives of millions of people vulnerable to the whims of future U.S. presidents... Even when presidents lift the global gag rule immediately upon taking office, high-quality health partners face long delays in resuming participation in U.S. global health programs. Permanent repeal of the policy is urgently needed to promote sustainable progress in global health and to build and maintain long-term partnerships between the U.S. government, local organizations, and the communities that they serve... Urgent action is needed to finally end the global gag rule once and for all and advance health, human rights, and gender equality across the globe."
The full joint statement can be found here and the full list of signatories is below:
Amnesty International is a global movement of millions of people demanding human rights for all people - no matter who they are or where they are. We are the world's largest grassroots human rights organization.
(212) 807-8400"There are no other providers who can fill the gap if the 'defunding' of Planned Parenthood is allowed to stand," said the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and two state chapters.
A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked a provision of the new Republican budget law that bars Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood health centers across the United States, an attack that reproductive rights advocates warn could shutter hundreds of clinics nationwide.
The decision by Judge Indira Talwani of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, an Obama appointee, came shortly after the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its chapters in Massachusetts and Utah sued over the provision, which establishes a one-year Medicaid funding ban for healthcare organizations that provide abortions and received more than $800,000 in federal funding in 2023.
The lawsuit argues that the "clear purpose" of the provision is to "categorically prohibit health centers associated with Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid reimbursements... in order to punish them for lawful activity, namely advocating for and providing legal abortion access wholly outside the Medicaid program and without using any federal funds."
The provision therefore "violates plaintiffs' Equal Protection and First Amendment rights," the lawsuit states.
Talwani ordered the Trump administration to "take all steps necessary to ensure that Medicaid funding continues to be disbursed in the customary manner and timeframes" to Planned Parenthood and its members as the case proceeds.
Planned Parenthood welcomed Talwani's decision to issue a temporary injunction but stressed that the legal battle is far from over.
"We're grateful that the court acted swiftly to block this unconstitutional law attacking Planned Parenthood providers and patients," the organization said in a statement late Monday. "Already, in states across the country, providers and health center staff have been forced to turn away patients who use Medicaid to get basic sexual and reproductive healthcare because President Trump and his backers in Congress passed a law to block them from going to Planned Parenthood."
"There are no other providers who can fill the gap if the 'defunding' of Planned Parenthood is allowed to stand," the group added. "The fight is just beginning, and we look forward to our day in court."
"The Trump administration's hell-bent ambitions to close our clinics and abandon our patients won't stop us."
Planned Parenthood warned that if the provision—which anti-abortion groups praised—is allowed to stand, nearly 200 health centers across dozens of states would be at risk of permanent closure due to the one-year Medicaid funding ban and more than a million patients could lose access to care, including STI treatment, cancer screenings, and birth control.
According to Planned Parenthood, 60% of its health centers are located in areas that are rural, medically underserved, or plagued by a shortage of healthcare professionals.
More than half of Planned Parenthood member patients rely on Medicaid to access crucial health services, the group estimates.
"The Trump administration's hell-bent ambitions to close our clinics and abandon our patients won't stop us," said Dominique Lee, president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts. "Let me be crystal clear: We are not intimidated. We were built for this moment. Here in Massachusetts, we fight back, and we will never be bullied into turning our backs on healthcare or human rights."
While the agency and outside meteorologists say the NWS provided timely and accurate forecasts, the fatal flooding is generating fresh alarm about cuts and open positions.
As the official death toll from catastrophic flooding in Texas ticked above 100 on Monday, concerns over vacancies as well as job and potential funding cuts at the National Weather Service continued to mount—even as the NWS and independent meteorologists insisted that the agency had "issued timely warnings in advance of the deadly floods."
The flooding came just over two months after all living former directors of the NWS published a letter sounding the alarm about President Donald Trump's proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 and its cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the parent agency of the NWS in the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The five men—Louis Uccellini, Jack Hayes, Brig. Gen. D.L. Johnson, Brig. Gen. John J. Kelly Jr., and E.W. "Joe" Friday—wrote on May 2 that "even if the National Weather Service remains level funded, given the interconnectedness of all of the parts of NOAA, there will be impacts to weather forecasting as well. We cannot let this happen."
"These proposed cuts come just days after approximately 300 National Weather Service... employees left the public service to which they had devoted their lives and careers," the ex-directors pointed out. "That's on top of the approximately 250 NWS employees who were fired as a result of their probationary status in new—often higher-level positions—or took the initial buyout offered by the Trump administration in early February."
"That leaves the nation's official weather forecasting entity at a significant deficit—down more than 10% of its staffing—just as we head into the busiest time for severe storm predictions like tornadoes and hurricanes," they continued. "Our worst nightmare is that weather forecast offices will be so understaffed that there will be needless loss of life. We know that's a nightmare shared by those on the forecasting frontlines—and by the people who depend on their efforts."
Discussing recent job reductions with The Associated Press on Monday, Uccellini, whose tenure leading NWS included Trump's first term, warned that "this situation is getting to the point where something could break."
"The people are being tired out, working through the night and then being there during the day because the next shift is short-staffed," he said. "Anything like that could create a situation in which important elements of forecasts and warnings are missed."
For the flooding in Texas, the NWS Austin-San Antonio office had five meteorologists working, rather than two, as part of its "surge staffing" protocol.
However, Tom Fahy, the legislative director for the NWS Employees Organization, a union that represents government workers, also told NBC News that the agency's Austin-San Antonio office does not have a permanent science officer, who conducts training for and implements new technology, or a warning coordination meteorologist, who has contact with media.
That office "is operating with 11 staff meteorologists and is down six employees from its typical full staffing level of 26," NBC reported. The nearby San Angelo office "is short four staff members from its usual staffing level of 23. The meteorologist-in-charge position—the office's top leadership position—is not permanently filled. The office is also without a senior hydrologist."
Despite some open positions at the two offices, the NWS began warning of potential flooding as early as Thursday morning, and as conditions worsened overnight, the agency issued its first warning for "life-threatening flash flooding" for parts of Kerr County at 1:14 am Central Time Friday, according to CNN.
"But questions remain about how many people they reached, whether critical vacancies at the forecast offices could have affected warning dissemination, and if so-called warning fatigue had been growing among residents in a region described as one of the most dangerous in the country for flash flooding," the network noted.
As Fahy put it to Politico: "The crux of this disaster is a failure of the last mile of communication... The forecasts went out, they communicated the forecasts, they disseminated the watches and warnings. And the dilemma we have is there was nobody listening at 4 o'clock in the morning for these watches and warnings."
Wisconsin-based meteorologist Chris Vagasky similarly told NBC that "the forecasting was good. The warnings were good. It's always about getting people to receive the message... It appears that is one of the biggest contributors—that last mile."
As The New York Times reported:
In an interview, Rob Kelly, the Kerr County judge and its most senior elected official, said the county did not have a warning system because such systems are expensive, and local residents are resistant to new spending.
"Taxpayers won't pay for it," Mr. Kelly said. Asked if people might reconsider in light of the catastrophe, he said, "I don't know."
As of Monday evening, 104 people are confirmed dead, most of them in Kerr County, which includes Camp Mystic, a Christian all-girls summer camp that lost at least 27 campers and counselors. The AP reported that "search-and-rescue teams carried on with the search for the dead, using heavy equipment to untangle trees and wading into swollen rivers. Volunteers covered in mud sorted through chunks of debris, piece by piece, in an increasingly bleak task."
In a statement to multiple news outlets, the NWS provided a detailed timeline of its alerts. The agency also said that it "is heartbroken by the tragic loss of life in Kerr County" and "remains committed to our mission to serve the American public through our forecasts and decision support services."
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Monday sent a letter to Roderick Anderson, acting inspector general at the Department of Commerce, urging an investigation into "the scope, breadth, and ramifications of whether staffing shortages at key local National Weather Service... stations contributed to the catastrophic loss of life and property during the deadly flooding."
"The roles left unfilled are not marginal, they're critical," he emphasized. "These are the experts responsible for modeling storm impacts, monitoring rising water levels, issuing flood warnings, and coordinating directly with local emergency managers about when to warn the public and issue evacuation orders. To put it plainly: They help save lives."
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt lashed out at him and reporters for such scrutiny on Monday, saying that "unfortunately, in the wake of this once-in-a-generation natural disaster, we have seen many falsehoods pushed by Democrats such as Sen. Chuck Schumer and some members of the media. Blaming President Trump for these floods is a depraved lie, and it serves no purpose during this time of national mourning."
In addition to the president's so-called Department of Government Efficiency—previously led by billionaire Elon Musk, the richest person on Earth—pushing layoffs and retirements, Trump's administration is working to boost fossil fuels that drive the global climate emergency.
As Common Dreams reported earlier Monday, a study published by ClimaMeter found that the floods in Texas were caused by "very exceptional meteorological conditions" that cannot be explained merely by natural variability.
Former Common Dreams staff writer Kenny Stancil is a senior researcher at the Revolving Door Project, which has documented "Trump's attacks on disaster preparedness and response."
"The deadly Texas floods will not be the last manifestation of extreme weather turbocharged by fossil fuel pollution," Stancil wrote in a Monday blog post. "In an era of escalating climate threats, we need a stronger public sector with more resources to mitigate risks, help people weather storms, and adapt to the future."
"We got people that work and repair the water mains and can't afford their water bill," said union leader Greg Boulware last week. "I don't want to be rich. We just want comfort inside the city that we serve daily."
Philadelphia's largest municipal workers' strike in over 40 years is entering its second week after negotiations with the city broke down this weekend.
Over 9,000 sanitation workers, 911 dispatchers, water services workers, crossing guards, and other city employees walked off the job last week, demanding that the city increase their salary enough to meet the rising cost of living.
But even with trash piling up on the streets and other city services understaffed, Mayor Cherelle Parker (D) would not agree to the demands made by AFSCME District Council 33, Philadelphia's largest blue-collar union.
Parker has offered a pay increase of 8.75% over the next three years, which she described as historic.
But DC 33 president Greg Boulware said that's far too little for municipal workers, many of whom are among the city's "working poor," to survive.
"It's not like as if our members are making $80,000, $90,000 a year," Boulware said. "A 2% increase on those would be significantly higher than it would be on somebody making $40,000-$45,000 a year. So, her math truly is not mathing, and you're clearly not paying attention to the working people that are going on in this city."
The average municipal worker in Philadelphia makes around $46,000, which is $15,000 less than the median income in the city and less than half of what a single adult needs to live comfortably, according to a study by SmartAsset.
"We got people that work and repair the water mains and can't afford their water bill," Boulware said at a rally last week. "We got people that repair the runways at the airport and can't afford a plane ticket. I don't want to be rich. We just want a comfort inside the city that we serve daily."
The union initially asked for an 8% raise for the next four years, which the city dismissed. This weekend, they pared their proposal down to 5%, but the city still did not budge.
Parker has insisted that her smaller proposed increases are merely what is "fiscally responsible," and that the city cannot afford to offer more.
The union has disputed this, pointing out that Parker herself is budgeted to receive a 9% increase to her salary of more than $240,000. That increase alone is nearly half the current salary that the average DC 33 member makes in a year.
As of Monday, negotiations have stalled, with no clear end in sight. With a throng of picketers behind him, Boulware told NBC 10, a local affiliate, that the union was working on a third proposal, and that negotiations may resume Tuesday. But he seemed to expect more obstinacy from the city.
"We've been there to be able to sit and meet and negotiate," he said. "It doesn't seem like the city quite honestly wants to entertain any of the questions that we have about things and actually have a true dialogue... That's how you negotiate and that's not truly what's been going on."
Despite the city's refusal to budge, momentum around the strike has continued to grow. On Friday, rapper LL Cool J dropped out of a 4th of July festival in the city, saying, "There is absolutely no way I can perform across a picket line."
Other AFSCME councils around Pennsylvania have joined pickets in solidarity. This includes Philadelphia's Council 47, which represents thousands of "white collar" city workers.
With mounds of trash accumulating on streets, sometimes becoming as "tall as people," the environmental activists with the Sunrise Movement have also joined in the effort to pressure the city. On Monday, activists hauled bags of trash into the lobby of City Hall, labeled with the words "Meet DC 33 Demands" written in yellow tape.
AFSCME, meanwhile, has stated its resolve to fight on as the strike has gained national attention.
"City workers are holding the line until they get a FAIR contract with the wages and benefits they deserve," the national union's account wrote on X Monday. "One day longer, one day stronger, no matter what it takes."