Devex: Two years in, report finds ‘global gag rule’ cuts access to health care
“More than two years after the Trump administration’s implementation of the expanded ‘global gag rule,’ the impacts of the U.S. policy are increasingly clear: the regulations are cutting access to all health services, according to a new report from the International Women’s Health Coalition. The Mexico City policy — which states that foreign NGOs that receive any U.S. global health funding are prohibited from engaging in abortion-related activities, including providing counseling or education — had an instant chilling effect on those organizations, forced to choose between providing abortion-related services and receiving U.S. global health funding…” (Lieberman, 6/5).

The Guardian: Trump’s anti-abortion global gag rule threatening women’s lives, report says
“…The ‘Crisis in Care’ report from the International Women’s Health Coalition outlines the two-year impact of the Trump administration’s ‘global gag rule’ … The rule applies to an organization’s non-U.S. funded activities too… The new report, built on 118 interviews with community health organizations in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Nepal, portrays an international health community grappling with confusion over the gag rule’s implementation, increased stigmatization of reproductive health services, and a ripple effect that is closing or fragmenting critical health services…” (Horton, 6/5).

Thomson Reuters Foundation: U.S. global abortion policy causing deaths, researchers say
“…The research, which looked at the policy’s impact in Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, and South Africa, was released at Women Deliver, a global conference on gender equality held every three years. … Beyond the impact on the availability of safe abortions, the rule has forced the closing of clinics and outreach programs that provide an array of health care services, the report said. … A spokeswoman for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which administers aid, said the government was making sure it did not fund groups that ‘perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning.’ Most of the groups that receive U.S. government [global health] aid have agreed to the policy’s conditions, she said. ‘The United States remains committed to helping women and their children thrive, particularly in countries where the need is greatest,’ the USAID spokeswoman said…” (Wulfhorst, 6/5).

Additional coverage of the report is available from Al Jazeera, The Independent, and VICE.