Foreign Policy: Trump’s Global Gag Rule Is Killing Women, Report Says
“…[T]he Trump administration brought back and expanded a Ronald Reagan-era policy — formally known as the Mexico City policy, but often called the ‘global gag rule’ by critics — that prohibits U.S. [global] health-related aid to foreign non-governmental organizations that perform or promote abortion. The rule has such far-reaching impacts that, beyond limiting abortion access, it has also decreased access to contraception and treatment for illnesses such as HIV and tuberculosis, as organizations that have lost funding roll back or close services. … [An International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC)] report concluded that the gag rule has led to a rise in unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions … The rule also has a ‘chilling effect’ on advocacy for reproductive rights and damages partnerships in the health care sector because ‘gagged’ organizations fear losing funding if they are linked to ones that don’t conform to the policy, the report said. … A spokesperson for USAID said in an email that the majority of its partners continue to work with the U.S. government in spite of the rule…” (Dharssi, 6/19).