(Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images) |
By Shoshanna Ehrlich | President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday reinstating the global gag rule, known as the “Mexico City policy,” which prohibits overseas groups from collecting U.S. aid if they provide abortion, counsel on abortion or advocate for abortion rights.
During his first presidential term, one of Trump’s earliest actions was the reinstatement of the global gag rule—a wholly expected move from a Republican president. But he also inaugurated an unprecedented expansion of the rule’s reach … red-flagging what likely lies ahead.
Fueling the sense of urgency, Project 2025 calls for the further expansion of the gag rule beyond foreign health aid to include “all foreign assistance, including humanitarian aid.” This expansion would increase the affected funding from about $7.3 billion to about $51 billion. Project 2025’s vision of an expanded global gag rule would also, for the first time, include foreign governments in addition to NGOs within its prohibitive sweep.
Only the permanent rescission of the global gag rule will jettison this impending threat to the sexual and reproductive rights and well-being of women around the globe.
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