Comments on: If We Make The Word “Abortion” Disappear…Orwell Would Be Proud http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/04/03/if-we-make-the-word-abortion-disappearorwell-would-be-proud/ UrGently Fierce Feminism In Perilous Times Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:02:17 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: cq http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/04/03/if-we-make-the-word-abortion-disappearorwell-would-be-proud/comment-page-1/#comment-59623 cq Fri, 04 Apr 2008 02:04:35 +0000 http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/04/03/if-we-make-the-word-abortion-disappearorwell-would-be-proud/#comment-59623 As someone who has worked in public health on USAID-funded projects, I am not at all surprised by this unfortunate, deliberate obfuscation. USAID doesn't exactly "legislate" language, but they have a "grey list" of terms that one should think twice about using in a proposal or report. (For example, "adolescent sexual and reproductive health" is discouraged. If you remove "sexual," it's OK.) I think that the "grey list" is deplorable. And it is absolutely deplorable that POPLINE has removed "abortion" as a search term, especially considering that USAID does fund post-abortion care programs (i.e., programs providing care and treatment to women who have had complications due to an unsafe and/or possibly illegal abortion procedure). However, I am not surprised. Given the amount of money that USAID is in control of and the power they wield in the public health world, there is a reticence among funding recipients (such as JHU and POPLINE) to do anything that would damage the relationship with the purse-holder. Clearly, policies such as the Global Gag Rule have a chilling effect in the US as well. As someone who has worked in public health on USAID-funded projects, I am not at all surprised by this unfortunate, deliberate obfuscation. USAID doesn’t exactly “legislate” language, but they have a “grey list” of terms that one should think twice about using in a proposal or report. (For example, “adolescent sexual and reproductive health” is discouraged. If you remove “sexual,” it’s OK.)

I think that the “grey list” is deplorable. And it is absolutely deplorable that POPLINE has removed “abortion” as a search term, especially considering that USAID does fund post-abortion care programs (i.e., programs providing care and treatment to women who have had complications due to an unsafe and/or possibly illegal abortion procedure). However, I am not surprised. Given the amount of money that USAID is in control of and the power they wield in the public health world, there is a reticence among funding recipients (such as JHU and POPLINE) to do anything that would damage the relationship with the purse-holder. Clearly, policies such as the Global Gag Rule have a chilling effect in the US as well.

]]> By: Why is a Government-Funded Reproductive Health Database Blocking Users from Searching for Abortion Articles? « Women’s Health News http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/04/03/if-we-make-the-word-abortion-disappearorwell-would-be-proud/comment-page-1/#comment-59590 Why is a Government-Funded Reproductive Health Database Blocking Users from Searching for Abortion Articles? « Women’s Health News Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:08:31 +0000 http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/04/03/if-we-make-the-word-abortion-disappearorwell-would-be-proud/#comment-59590 [...] Feminist Peace Network » If We Make The Word “Abortion” Disappear…Orwell Would Be Proud Says: April 3, 2008 at 6:39 pm [...] [...] Feminist Peace Network » If We Make The Word “Abortion” Disappear…Orwell Would Be Proud Says: April 3, 2008 at 6:39 pm [...]

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