Trump signs order to reinstate ‘global gag rule’ on abortion aid
Trump signs order to reinstate ‘global gag rule’ on abortion aid
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Federal rule also known as ‘Mexico City policy’ halts US funds to overseas groups that provide abortion services. Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order reinstating a federal rule known as the “Mexico City policy” which halts US aid from flowing to groups that provide abortion services, counsel people about the procedure or advocate for abortion rights overseas.
The policy, which was first instituted by Ronald Reagan in 1984, is typically implemented whenever a Republican president wins the White House and rescinded whenever a Democrat wins. But this whiplash has major implications for abortion and reproductive healthcare around the world.
Historically, the revival of the Mexico City policy affects up to about $600m of international aid. During his first term, however, Trump dramatically expanded the scope of the Mexico city policy, which abortion rights supporters call a “global gag rule”. Rather than applying the policy only to family planning assistance, as was typical, the Trump administration applied to it to assistance for organizations that offer a range of health services around the globe – leading the policy to affect billions of dollars’ worth of aid.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, which tracks abortion restrictions and their impact, the policy can cut off access to contraception, lead women to seek out unsafe abortions and cause tumult within the non-governmental groups that depend on US aid to keep their programs going.
