Trump Strikes at Abortion With a Revived Foreign-Aid Rule
Trump Strikes at Abortion With a Revived Foreign-Aid Rule
On Monday, just days after hundreds of thousands of women
marched on Washington, as well as in
hundreds of cities around the nation and the world, to
call for, among other issues, the protection of women’s reproductive rights, President Donald Trump
signed off on the first anti-abortion policy of his term.
It was expected: Almost immediately upon entering office, every new administration since 1984 has repealed or reinstated, according to its party’s position on abortion rights, a rule that
prohibits foreign organizations that receive U.S. family-planning funds “from providing counseling or referrals for abortion or advocating for access to abortion services in their country.”
This rule, known as the Mexico City policy,
blocks U.S. family-planning assistance to these groups, even if their abortion-related activities—including information, referrals, or services—are conducted with non-U.S. funds. Opponents to the restriction have dubbed it the “Global Gag Rule” because it hinders communication between health-care providers and patients.
Originally put in place by Ronald Reagan, the Mexico City policy followed two other pieces of legislation that curbed funding for abortions. The https://www.usaid.gov/what-we-do/global-health/family-planning/usaids-family-planning-guiding-principles-and-us, passed quickly after th
e Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 and sponsored by Republican Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina, prohibits the use of U.S. foreign aid for abortion services. The next move to restrict abortions came in 1976 with the
Hyde Amendment, which prevents any taxpayer dollars from covering elective abortions in the United States.