Sen. Clinton Champions Women's Health Worldwide

Late on election night, I received an email from a Planned Parenthood staff person, Njeri Wahome, in Nairobi, Kenya. Njeri wrote to me to verify what she was seeing on television -- that Senator Obama had won. "Can it be true? We are over the moon ... at the making of history." For a woman who has dedicated her life to improving the health of women and children in her home country, Njeri knew that a change in U.S. administration could have a dramatic impact on women in Kenya. For the past eight years, the Bush administration has enforced a global gag rule, an executive order that prevented thousands of health care entities around the world from providing women with birth control. In some parts of Africa, women have a one-in-10 risk of dying in childbirth. And as Nicholas Kristof wrote in the New York Times in October, the result of the so-called "pro-life" policy has likely been tens of thousands of additional and avoidable abortions each year. In addition to implementing the gag rule, each year the Bush administration has denied funding to UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, at the behest of the far right -- money that would have paid for the provision of critical reproductive care.

Today, the incoming administration will generate another celebration by women all around the world when President-elect Obama names Hillary Clinton as our next secretary of state. The selection of Senator Clinton represents an important first step down a new path for American foreign policy -- an enormous shift represented by the selection of a champion of women's health and rights to be in charge of America foreign policy.

As first lady and as a U.S. senator, Hillary Clinton visited more than 80 nations, but for a majority of the world's population, her unique quality may be her gender. Senator Clinton understands that improving the status of women is not simply a moral imperative; it is necessary to building democracies around the globe. Improving the status of women is key to creating stable families, stable communities, and stable countries. Women's ability to control the size of their families, regardless of economics, nationality, or culture, has a direct impact on their economic well-being and that of their children. Senator Clinton understands that women's quality of life directly affects the major issues confronting the globe: national security, environmental sustainability, and global poverty.

In a speech that, by the standards of the Bush administration, sounds positively radical, Clinton addressed the Cairo Plus Five Forum at the Hague in 1999, saying, "Women's reproductive health and empowerment are critical to a nation's sustainability and growth ... we now know that no nation can hope to succeed in the global economy of the 21st century if half of its people lack the opportunity and the right to make the most of their God-given potential. No nation can move forward when its women and children are trapped in endless cycles of poverty; when they have inadequate health care, poor access to family planning, limited education."

What a new day it will be when we can quit fighting with our government over the need to bring health care, education, and equality to women in every country -- including our own. Let's hope for a swift confirmation for our new secretary of state and celebrate her taking on this enormously important assignment. To Njeri and the thousands of women like her who see the impact of U.S. policy every day -- it is the true beginning of the 21st century.

Comments

[MrCommonSense]

I find it absolutely amazing that so many of you find Hillary as a good choice for Secretary of State when the truth is that her only real experience is following her husband around as his wife and interacting in social events. But then with a President with no real experience it should not surprise me that he selects someone with no real experience. More on the job training! I just have to pray for a miracle that produces fruit for America!

[scjk67]

ya got to remember bill clinton didn't have any experience too, he was a one term govenor, Obama has been a state sanate for 6 years and u.s. senator for 3, not to forget he served other government positions.

[Fabienne]

Yeah, and he left little that could be considered a longlasting legacy behind him, other than a mostly-Republican-controlled Congress for 14 years, a lot of deregulation, NAFTA and welfare "reform", and a militant stance toward the Middle East. The "peace and prosperity" was easily squandered; the rest of his legacy will be with us for a long time and we are seeing the results.

[closetodemfection]

OH honestly. Please do some research before spewing falsehoods. You seem to be forgetting it's been nearly a decade since BC's presidency and even then she was hardly following Bill around serving tea. Since then, HRC has been a US senator for EIGHT YEARS! She is on the Senate Armed Services committee and meets with foreign leaders constantly. Foreign leaders all over the world have expressed they're pleased with her as SoS because they have RELATIONSHIPS with her already.

[ChapStick80]

Thanks for your response. Unfortunate these kinds of falsehoods and hateful comments
show up only a few hours after the appointment. Bill Clinton did not follow Hillary to
some 80 Countries. Why not give her some time? She might just be the best SOState
during some very serious times for our country.

[christopherflynn]

that last sentence of your post coming from 'one of the 'fruits' already in America...

[doneright]

Barack Obama hit the nail on the head when he said in a campaign speech that experience is not the qualification we should be looking for. What is important is the ability to make judgment calls based on good information. It is the wisdom people have brought from their life experiences that allows them to see what is important and what is not. Experience just means you have been at it for a while. The decisions you have made are probable based on the same tired and false perspectives you had 40 years ago. They might well have been wrong then and they are probably wrong today, but you have been at it longer than anyone else. Therefore you are the most qualified. Not hardly!

[TankerRat]

CLINTON THREE has been launched. This is so obviously a political payoff one wants to vomit. To pass over a QUALIFIED and EXPERIENCED diplomat the caliber of a Bill Richardson for the grossly under qualified and inexperienced Clinton is NOT the change this country had in mind when they elected Obama.

[againstzionistracism]

Quote:
The New York Sun, a newspaper published by Ronald Weintraub and edited by Seth Lipsky, and known for its pro-Israel bias, carried an article recently on the obeisance made by Hillary Clinton to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in New York, which might almost be called a pledge of allegiance to Israel. Quoth the Sun's staff reporter, Jill Gardiner:

"A Democratic political consultant who worked on President Clinton's re-election campaign, Hank Sheinkopf, noted that the AIPAC dinner always draws a parade of politicians.

'New York is the ATM for American politicians. Large amounts of money come from the Jewish community,' he said. 'If you're running for president and you want dollars from that group, you need to show that you're interested in the issue that matters most to them.'

Mrs. Clinton, who has opted out of the public campaign financing system, has tapped into the circuit of influential Jewish donors for years and has strong support in the community. A spokesman for AIPAC, Joshua Block, said yesterday that the senator and former first lady has 'an extremely consistent and strong record of support on issues that are important to the pro-Israel community.'"

Hillary apparently sang the song that everyone at AIPAC loves to hear, for later in the Sun's article, we read, "While Mr. Edwards and Mrs. Clinton have different positions on how to deal with the Iraq war, each has used harsh language on Iran."

[ferdek]

tankerRat: Bravo! A careful review of all the Obama appointments produces an overwhelming wrenching disgust. We worked so hard so long only to be sold out, abandoned, mocked and ridiculed by Team Obama. Militarists, anti-union, anti-working class and pro-Wall Street. It is clearly the biggest and most fraudulent Transformation from candidate to President in the history of the US. This is a scandalous lie perpetrated on the hopeful masses who now must reject him asap. Just say no to Team Obama. False Pretenses comparable to Pretexts to War in Iraq. Who will be Inaugurated? It will be a combination of Bush and Clinton 3...Bush Doctrine and Clinton the Kleptocrat!

[flossophy]

May this be a lesson. Even the most leftist politician cannot veer away from responsible policy. ferdek, the worldview you embrace is in its twilight. Not even a socialist president sees things the way you do.

You have been fed a bill of goods that conflicts with reality. The more noise you guys make, the more irrelevant you become. Here... you can borrow my bullhorn.

[wakupmagy]

As someone else already noted: PE Obama has given Bill Clinton something he could not otherwise have had ... a third term.
And all this nonsense about what Hillary Clinton has done for women's rights is a joke. After all the rhetoric--which is the author's own wishful thinking--the only solid HRC gesture towards international women's concerns is a speech she gave 10 years ago.
I was an Obama supporter from Day One--now, I feel betrayed.

[closetodemfection]

I suggest you do wake up and research what HRC has done for women's rights. It's called google.

[AsISaid]

Hopefully you voted for Obama to lead - and that is exactly what he is doing. Too bad he didn't call you personally so that you could sanction each move he makes during his Presidency. By questioning him already, perhaps YOU are the betrayer, not the betrayed.

[hardybear]

Apparently Jeb Bush is organizing a shadow GOP government,
send over your resumé.

[texun]

Bill Richardson served in various national jobs with distinction. No argument on that claim. It looks like Obama is looking for pizazz and international recognition with the Clinton appointment--not necessarily a bad move as he attempts to expand the role of diplomacy in foreign relations and the stature of the US abroad.

[KaptainKen]

To expand on "Websmith's" previous post .....

United States Constitution Article 1, Section 6, Second Paragraph:
..............
"No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time ..."

Or in plain language .... Senators cannot resign to take newly created or higher-paying political position until the conclusion of the term for which they were elected. During Hillary Clinton's (current) term in the Senate the salary of the Secretary of State was raised.

Does anyone have any facts about how the President-elect is going to get around this?

Inquiring minds want to know ....

[DieboldDemocracy]

you lost me at "Building Democracies around the Globe"

our "democracies" will only be puppet governments.

[againstzionistracism]

We must remember the exchange in 1996 between Bill Clinton’s Zionist Secretary of State Madeleine Albright who was then US ambassador to the United Nations, and Lesley Stahl of CBS. Albright was maintaining that sanctions had yielded important concessions from Saddam Hussein.
Stahl: "We have heard that half a million children have died. I mean, that's more children than died in Hiroshima. And you know, is the price worth it?"
Albright: "I think this is a very hard choice, but the price ­ we think
the price is worth it."

They read that exchange in the Middle East. It was infamous all over the Arab world.

[MugsyPeabody]

And now it is time to pass the ERA.

[BlueZoo]

I will never understand the Equal Rights Amendment. We - man, woman, child, religion, color - already have equal rights guaranteed under the Constitution. The problem is getting someone to enforce them and I don't believe the ERA will help that problem!

[darrenlobo]

This article is incredibly naive. Hillary is just a smiling face hiding the mailed fist that is US foreign policy. Selecting her, among other Obama choices, shows how hollow his change campaign was. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

[karenlee]

"but for a majority of the world's population, her unique quality may be her gender". That has to be a ridiculous comment for someone writing for Huffington Post. Albright and Rice are both women -- their international politics were terrible. Hillary Clinton's gender consciousness, not her gender, is what might make a difference.

[castaway5555]

Excellent note ...

[brodon]

How about the health of unborn females?

[bluepearl2001]

How about if we start taking care of the FEMALES we already have, AFTER they are born?

[mstercor]

you go hillary. in 2016 it will be hillary against sarah.

hillary 2016

[bluepearl2001]

That would be "Theater of the Absurd". Not likely. I'm counting on, praying for Sarah to go home and start taking care of her own family. Had enough of her small-minded "I can see Russia" non-sense!

[curiousdwk]

I can see that Hillary's appointment may be good for women - both in the US and around the world. But I am afraid her appointment will not be good for the US in terms of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. She has not sought a plan where both sides will win. And that is the most important conflict that we as a country need to address. I'm disappointed as this will NOT be the CHANGE we need.

[TheSecularist]

I, too, was hopeful that an Obama administration would mean more equitable arbitration regarding the Palestinians and Israelis. How can there ever be a peace accord brokered by a country (the US) that is so extremely biased toward one of the parties. Maybe there is still hope for equity. Let's give Obama a chance.

[gopons]

The challenge has always been the definition of what is a win. Both sides cannot agree on what represents a win, and therein lies the continuing conflct. Still it appears to me that this administration will make a greater effort at addressing this conflict than the previous, and Hilary will be at the heart of the new diplomacy.

[bluepearl2001]

Lest we forget that we elected BARACK OBAMA for president, it will be his WILL that defines and shapes the middle east. And we are all eager to see how HIS vision till take shape.
Let's all take a deep breath and see what he can do....with Hillary's formidable help.

[websmith]

Article 1, Section 6 of the Constitution prohibits legislators from raising the salary of a cabinet position and then taking the position. The Senate that Hillary was a part of raised the salary of the Secretary of State last year.

We found out what happens when you get swept off of your feet with Bush who used terror as his broom. Instead of getting swept off of our feet with Obama's smile, we should remember that out loyalty is to the country and keep an eye on this guy.

The government is being handed to the Fed. Geithner, Volker, and Summers are from the Fed and Hillary is supported by the Rothchilds who are major stockholders. These people want war so wealth can be transferred. The last time we got swept off of our feet, we entered into an illegal war and transferred a trillion dollars of taxpayer wealth to the military industrial complex. Now we are in the process of transferring trillions more to the Fed and the Fed associated banks with the bank bailout. Hillary may have traveled the world at taxpayer expense, but she has no foreign policy experience.

http://ewebsmith.com/gov/JFKWarning.html

[NavyMom44]

We are already in the process of transferring trillions to the Fed and not because of Hillary nor any of the others you listed.

We've handed them trillions because of BUSH and the keys he gave to businesses, lobbyists, his cronys to do what they wanted, when they wanted and how they wanted. THEN he has the nerve to have the Justice department authority taken from them when he protects them from prosecution.

These people did not make this mess, but BY GOD they have to clean it up before than can perform the actual job descriptions they were appointed for.

[Uberbah]

Why not advocate improved health care for all, instead of focusing on health care for women? Feminism needs to be replaced with an egalitarian movement for social advancement and social justice.

[ferdek]

Right on Uberbah...Humanitarianism makes no such distinctions and shouldn't. Is Hillary Clinton capable of representing Americans or just American Women? It is time for Hillary to declare her allegiance to humanity...and stop with the victim's mantra since no one is buying that especially from her.

[mivogo]

Thank you Uberbah and Ferdek. Yes, women's health is vital--but no more so than men's health. Men die 6 to 7 years earlier than women on average in the U.S. Men experience fatal heart problems at a much greater rate than women, and NIH funding for prostate cancer is at 25% the rate of breast cancer.
If women were dying on average seven years younger than men, articles would be appearing daily in the media screaming for immediate action to rectify the situation. But when it's men, no one seems to care--or worse, think they deserve it!

[morninmist]

Do some real reseach and educate yourself. Until recently most, if not all research on diseases was done on MEN including drug dosing which can be dangerous to women.

[Fabienne]

Why not advocate nonviolence if one wants to improve the lives of women and children? They die in droves during war, especially pregnant women, who are very vulnerable?

[sunny123]

Thank you for sharing this wonderful post. We are so fortunate to be able to join the 21st century by voting. We are so fortunate for have wonderful, progressive people who are willing to work for all of us. In time we will again be the bright light to the rest of the world and to women everywhere.

[RightWingMarine]

I'm disappointed that we are giving any of our tax dollars to healthcare entities anywhere even moreso for those outside the US. Why is the health of non-US citizens not even in our country our responsibility? If you want to donate some of your money to help someone that is great and you did so willingly with your own money. To take money from someone in the form of taxes and spend it for whatever cause is theft.

[bthechangeyouseek]

As communitarians in a global society, it is imperative that we continue support of health initiatives around the world to move forward; providing civil and human rights to all, erradicating disease such HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and more simple ills caused by contaminated water --is everyone's responsibility. I am proud that our country continues to provide support and hope that with the new administration we reorganize and fund more.

[bluepearl2001]

Indeed. Has it not become clear that one of the reasons we have lunatic terrorists running around the world is because there is inadequate EVERYTHING in their world? People dying of preventable diseases and starvation, while Americans drive around in gas-guzziling SUV's and worry about which restaurant they are going to go to for dinner tonight? Until we come to grips with the reality that WE ARE ALL ONE on this planet and begin to take responsibility to help those who cannot help themselves, we will invite poor, disenfranchised young people all around the world to sign up for "Terrorism 101" classes. Time to get real!!

[Ron5937]

I'm so happy that Hillary will be Sec'y State. She's an excellent choice. How wonderful are the tones of the speeches given by both Hillary and Obama. A more positive relationship with the world will make all the problems easier to manage. I love Obama's emphasis on accountability. So far, he's taking that very seriously (63 page vetting questionnaire).

How utterly wonderful to watch a leader assemble a government based on competence and a record of getting big things done well. He uses the word "consensus." That's an important word. We must not have partisan solutions to these myriad problems. Sure, those on the far right will try to obstruct, but there is serious movement toward pragmatism on the part of many Republicans (it turns out pragmatism is politically left!). The far right is not a problem. It seems pretty clear that they are hell-bent on continuing to shoot themselves in the foot. At least they have some entertainment value.

Oh happy day.

[NC1432]

Ron5937..........good post........just wondering.......what record of getting big things done well are you referring ??

[flossophy]

Umm... Ron5937, pragmatism is not politically left. It's the antithesis of the left. Obama's move to the right is considered pragmatic.

Libertarians own pragmatism.