How will the global gag rule affect you?

I felt my stomach drop, as if I were falling, when I read the news that President Trump signed into policy the global gag rule. It was a moment, andI felt the pain of the entire world in me. With this policy, it's not only the cycle ofunwanted pregnancy and maternal death that will continue, it's also perpetuating poverty and the patriarchy. Keeping women down.

I am sitting with this pain. Because I know it is capable of transforming itself into something for the good. Do you have a story to share about how you benefited from an organization's work in women's health/family planning, or how you might be affected if funding ceases for your local organization? Do you work for one of these organizations? I would love to hear your story.

There were people that responded to the Women's March (spread through social media) by saying we American women ought stop whining and take responsibility for our lives,citingmany countries in which the conditions for women are much worse. They use that against us, as if we don't know what is happening, as if we don't care. But it's the exact opposite- we care so very deeply that our stomachs fall out of our bodies when we hear thatfunding for international organizations that provide family planning resources and health educationwill cease (if they even so much as discuss abortion). That's why we marched! For the health and wellbeing of ALL women!