The Hill: Letter to the Editor: Gag rule shows disregard to women
Rebecca Harrington, national field director at Population Connection

“…[I]n one of his first actions as president, Donald Trump imposed the global gag rule, which bans foreign nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) from so much as talking about abortion if they want to receive U.S. foreign assistance for family planning. To make this terrible policy … even more far-reaching than usual, Trump’s version impacts all U.S. global health funding, including for programs that work to eradicate tuberculosis, and to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and Zika. … Passing the Global Health, Empowerment, and Rights (HER) Act would end Trump’s global gag rule and would prevent a future president from unilaterally imposing this terrible policy. It would ensure that foreign NGOs are not denied much-needed U.S. aid simply because they offer legal abortion services using non-U.S. funds, and it would prevent the deeply undemocratic violation of free speech that results from the gag rule” (5/30).