President Donald Trump used his executive authority on Friday to reinstate America’s participation in two international anti-abortion agreements, including one that would cut off US family planning funding to foreign organizations if they provide abortions. Or promote.
Trump reinstated the Mexico City policy, which opponents call the “global gag rule” because they say it silences pro-choice advocates. Established by former President Ronald Reagan in 1984, it has been repealed by every Democratic president since then and reinstated when a Republican returns to the White House.
Abortion is a divisive issue in American politics and was a major issue in the 2024 campaign won by Trump. In 2022, the US Supreme Court ruled to eliminate the right to abortion nationwide, leaving abortion laws up to each of the 50 states.
Trump said in his memo on Friday that he is directing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to implement the Mexico City Policy to ensure that American taxpayer dollars do not fund organizations or programs that provide forced abortions. or support or participate in the management of a program of involuntary sterilization. ,
Democrats and abortion rights advocates argue that the rule hinders other forms of health care access and prevents non-governmental organizations abroad from receiving US funding, even if they would use their own money on abortion care. Be.
Janine Madan Keller, a policy fellow at the Center for Global Development, said research showed the order led to an increase in unintended pregnancies and abortions, the opposite of its intended effect.
Madan Keller said, “Broadly speaking, these decisions are actually going to set the United States back in advancing gender equality,” by limiting the ability of women and girls to complete school and enter the workforce.
Rubio also announced Friday that the United States is rejoining the Geneva Consensus Declaration, which critics say aims to limit access to abortion for millions of women and girls around the world.
The declaration was co-sponsored by the United States, Brazil, Uganda, Egypt, Hungary, and Indonesia in 2020, when Trump was in office during his first term. It now has more than 35 signatories.
The previous Trump administration said the declaration sought better health care for women and the protection of human life, while also strengthening the family as the fundamental unit of society and protecting the sovereignty of each nation. Has been.
The State Department said Friday that one of the four objectives of the agreement was to “protect life at all stages.”
Trump also issued an executive order related to the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for abortion coverage in the United States, and aims to preserve reproductive health services after the Supreme Court overturned the decision. Canceled two executive orders of predecessor Joe Biden. Roe v. Wade decision on abortion.
“While this EO (executive order) has no immediate impact, it is a signal of the Trump Administration’s continued denial of abortion access to low-income people,” women’s health care provider Planned Parenthood said in a statement.