Bustle: Trump’s Global Gag Rule On Abortion Review Has This Glaring Problem, According To Activists
“In its six-month review of the Trump administration’s expanded global gag rule, the State Department presented a pretty rosy picture of the controversial policy’s rollout — but global nonprofits say the agency isn’t telling the whole story. In the report, the State Department [said] four organizations had lost funding due to the policy… Planned Parenthood and other reproductive rights groups, however, argue the global gag rule review is misleading. … To its credit, the State Department seems aware it’s a bit early in the game to review a policy that hasn’t even been fully implemented…” (Brinlee, 2/9).

CNN: Health groups dispute Trump admin claims on abortion funding
“…State Department officials weren’t able to say how much money the four groups would have received, or how much money will go to the groups that agreed to the conditions. The rules haven’t yet been applied to another 500 NGOs, but will be before the end of this fiscal year, the officials said. A report posted on the agency’s website said that even if aid groups refused to comply with the policy, the amount of funding directed to recipient countries would remain the same. It is ‘too early to analyze systematically what effect, if any, this will have on programming,’ the report said. But international aid groups disagreed, pointing to reproductive health clinics that have already had to close and outreach teams that have been scaled back, leaving women with no access to health services…” (Gaouette, 2/9).

Devex: NGOs push back on positive U.S. review of ‘global gag rule’
“Global health organizations called the United States State Department’s new findings that the vast majority of foreign NGOS are complying smoothly with its reinstated Mexico City Policy ‘skewed’ and ‘premature and inadequate.’ … Trump’s reinstatement of the law received widespread condemnation by NGOs and other government aid groups, prompting some European states to move to address funding shortfalls amid accusations that the global gag rule would endanger women’s health and reproductive rights worldwide. Administration sources were pointing to the State Department report as evidence that the rule has not had such a disruptive impact. However, critics pointed out the State Department’s analysis did not offer any information on how much funding is wrapped up in the loss of these contracts. … ‘This incomplete review tells a misleading story,’ said Latanya Mapp Frett, executive director of Planned Parenthood Global. … NGOs and research organizations have been working to assess the full extent of the global gag rule’s impact…” (Lieberman, 2/12).