Health Site Blocked 'Abortion' Searches

[MarkInLA]

Source: The Associated Press

BALTIMORE (AP) — A prominent public health school has restored the word "abortion" as an acceptable search term on a reproductive health Web site funded by a federal agency that restricts references to abortions.

The move by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health follows criticism from some health advocates and librarians that the restriction amounted to censorship.

The restriction on the POPLINE Web site — "population information online" — had been put in place after inquiries by the United States Agency for International Development, which funds the site, according to a statement from Dr. Michael J. Klag, the dean of the Bloomberg school.

USAID denies funding to non-governmental organizations that perform or actively promote abortion as a methods of family planning in other nations. The policy was started under President Ronald Reagan and was revived when President Bush took office in 2001.

Read more: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jsVvLn-eBWkWAfRJIAdRO-lFgvZAD8VRTIPO1

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Another outrageous result of having a moron as President. What a horrible time this has been in American political history.

[Hekate]

1. Kick

:kick:

[muryan]

2. january cant come

fast enough

[zanne]

4. Sometimes I dream about January..

Dreams about either a Democratic woman or a Democratic black man taking the oath of office are the only things getting me through this last horrible year.

After all the nightmares he's given us, I think we'll all sleep better in January.

[skooooo]

5. This isn't all going to magically disappear in January...

...it's going to be with us for a while and we will have to remove it piece by piece.


On edit: Once again, librarians strike!!!!!!

[zanne]

6. I agree that it will take a long time...

But with a Dem in the White House, we'll at least know that we can begin healing.

[OmahaBlueDog]

8. Don' say that too loud

I can see them going after libraries tooth and nail in the not too distant future. I can hear Rush or Billo or Beck or Savage now:

"Why do we need them? This is not the time of Franklin when books were expensive and rare? Cannot anyone can go to Amazon or Barnes and Noble for books today at low prices? Why are we publicly funding these sleaze merchants who would have our children read 'Catcher in the Rye' over the Left-Behind series and teen development books by James Dobson. Stop funding libraries with tax dollars, I say!!!"

OK, rant over

[electron_blue]

3. k&r

[Sarah Ibarruri]

7. Here, e-mail the person responsible for this......

Here's the director of the department that removed the word abortion from coming up on a search. I noticed this phrase: "....continue to affect our daily work by redirecting donor and development priorities." Maybe our fascist govt. and their fascist friends told them to do this or they'd not get more $$? Here's her e-mail if you choose to want to e-mail her about this ----------------> [e-mail]


_______________________________________
http://www.jhuccp.org/about/message_director.shtml

Message from the Director

Jane BertrandThe Center for Communication Programs faces new and daunting challenges. The health issues CCP now addresses through its communication programs have expanded far beyond reproductive health to a broad spectrum of infectious diseases, violence against women, clean water, hygiene improvement, the environment, trafficking in women, and democracy and governance.

Moreover, the world of public health is now a far more complex environment in which to operate. The events of September 11, 2001 changed the international landscape in ways that continue to affect our daily work by redirecting donor and development priorities. We work in a number of countries experiencing civil unrest and other tensions where health and politics become entangled. CCP staff is sometimes too close for comfort during headline-grabbing international incidents.

Yet never has the need for our services been greater. HIV/AIDS rages at epidemic levels in may sub-Saharan countries, and it is rapidly gaining ground in new regions of the world. Women in developing countries continue to die in childbirth from preventable causes. Polio persists in pockets of Nigeria and India . Years of rapid population growth have created record numbers of adolescents entering their reproductive years. Changing social norms in many areas worldwide put these young people at risk of unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS, and other social and health problems.

The growth of CCP's portfolio - both in terms of funding and diversity of issues - reflects the fast-evolving nature of international health and CCP's ability to respond effectively to these new challenges.

What's new at CCP? The Center continues to develop increasingly close ties with the Department of Health Behavior and Society and other faculty within the Bloomberg School of Public Heath. CCP is further expanding its position as a center of excellence in communication research, investigating the effectiveness of communication programs and publishing these results in peer-reviewed journals. And the Center plays a leadership role in promoting and managing knowledge as an important resource for reproductive health.

What hasn't changed at CCP? Our vision of a world in which communication saves lives, improves health, and enhances well-being. In the report we share with you the work that we - in collaboration with partners worldwide - are implementing globally to achieve the goal.

Jane Bertrand, PhD, MBA
Director, Center for Communication Programs
Professor, Bloomberg School of Public Health

[klebean]

9. We Thank Thee O Lord For Librarians

It seems they are the last stand against fascism in our country.

I searched this site last night for this story and saw that three posts went up and quickly sank.
So - very glad to see this on the front page today.

I don't comment much (as you can by my post count), but like the poster above, I look forward to either
democratic candidate replacing the current admin in January.