Mother Jones: New Data Shows How the U.S. Ban on Global Funds for Abortion Spectacularly Backfires
“…When President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reinstate the memorandum [commonly] known as the global gag rule [also known as the Mexico City policy] in January 2017, its effects were … felt by people … who serve communities in some of the world’s poorest provinces. Proponents said the [Mexico City] policy, first pushed by anti-abortion activists during the Reagan administration, would reduce the number of abortions in developing countries. The ban has been dismantled by every Democratic president, and reinstated by every Republican, since. But research published in November shows that, in some countries, the global gag rule backfires spectacularly. … Human Rights Watch reports that the policy now affects funding to programs addressing the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis and malaria, and even to water, sanitation, and hygiene initiatives. In particular, efforts to stem HIV infection have been severely impacted. … In Washington, D.C., the president’s expansion [of the policy] has inspired a push to repeal the global gag rule for good…” (Furneaux, 1/31).