Once again, Canadian Prime Minister (and Noted Feminist) Justin Trudeau is looking like the most eloquent statesman in comparison to Donald Trump, who flubbed his chance to sound “presidential” on International Women’s Day with some poorly received tweets about his “tremendous respect” for the ladies. Yes, the latter arguably didn’t have a shot at being taken seriously after the hot mic comments heard around the world, but them’s the breaks. In contrast, Trudeau decided to make a pretty major announcement about reproductive health funding.
Trudeau honored the occasion by pledging $650 million — double the current amount of funding — by Canada for reproductive health and family planning services. This effort won’t be limited to helping women in Canada, however. The money will also help fund global rights programs and provide funding and education to increase contraceptive use by 2020. Not too shabby, via CBC:
The money, which will be invested over a three-year period, will support projects that provide sex education, strengthen reproductive health services, and support family planning and contraceptives. It will also fund programs to prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence, including forced marriage and female genital mutilation, and supporting the right of women to get safe and legal abortions.
Trudeau said that around the world, women and girls are subjected to sexual violence, denied education and ownership of their own bodies, and held down by poverty. “This is not only a tragedy; it is a missed opportunity for many countries that could benefit greatly from the economic contributions of women,” he said during an event to mark International Women’s Day at a government building across from Parliament Hill.
See, women don’t only appreciate Trudeau for his insane yoga poses and quantum computing recitations. He never really means to show up Trump, but the comparisons are inevitable, especially after the two leaders teamed up for a joint task force to advance women’s place in the workforce.
Seriously though, the current U.S. leadership recently announced a healthcare bill that may allow states to charge women more for insurance. And earlier this week, Trump tried to make a deal with Planned Parenthood that played like a threat to strip funding if the organization doesn’t quit providing abortions. With policies like these, it’s no wonder that women are wary.
(Via CBC.ca)