The 2008 presidential election will prove to be an important decision in the history and direction of the United States on many fronts. The next president will have a significant impact on the future of reproductive health and rights in the U.S. and globally. The next president will have the opportunity to restore funding for crucial woman's health programs through the UNFPA; as well as the potential to amend the Mexico City Policy which restricts U.S. funds for family planning programs that provide or advocate for abortion. The next president may have the chance to appoint a Supreme Court Justice or re-direct international HIV/AIDS prevention funds away from failed abstinence-only-until-marriage programs towards proven prevention methods like comprehensive, science-based sexuality education and condom distribution. The next president will examine whether or not to continue federal funding for abstinence-only programs in this country; programs which have received over a billion dollars with deplorable results. Ultimately, this next U.S. president has the chance to pursue meaningful change on the issues we care about.

Rewire's 2008 Presidential Campaign and Election Coverage gives you the big picture beyond the rhetoric on reproductive and sexual health issues. We've done the research for you! Read about the candidates' official positions on everything from abortion to stem cell research, then compare their voting records, take note of their public statements, and keep up to date with our continuing coverage of the 2008 campaign season on the candidates' individual pages!

Our main presidential page highlights each candidate with links to the most recent Rewire articles with mentions of that particular candidate. "RH Issues" will give you the run-down on where the candidate stands on a range of reproductive and sexual health issues.

Rewire aims to extend the reproductive health dialogue in this campaign season beyond abortion to cover the spectrum of issues relevant to our lives: HIV/AIDS, sexuality education, contraception and family planning, and maternal health. To complement our 2008 election coverage, we have established a partnership with the Center for Independent Media through its New Journalist Fellowship Program to bring you news and analysis on these issues from the state level with three new writers reporting from Minnesota, Iowa and Colorado! Look for the "New Journalist Fellow" under the writers' names and you'll find important information on a range of state and national level reproductive health issues.