One of President Barack Obama's first acts after he took office eight years ago was to reverse the Mexico City Policy, also known as the Global Gag Rule, a ban on federal funding to organizations that so much as mention abortion to the people they serve. Today, one of President Trump's first acts in office was to sign an executive order reinstating the Gag Rule. This move ushers in another era in which any recipient of U.S. aid will be prohibited from providing abortion care or educating women about abortion options, even if abortion is legal where they live and regardless of whether or not U.S. dollars are used for abortion-related services.
"Women's health and rights are now one of the first casualties of the Trump administration," Serra Sippel, president of the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE), said in a statement. "The global gag rule has been associated with an increase in unsafe abortions and we expect that Trump's global gag rule will cost women their lives."
Globally, around 47,000 women die as a result of unsafe abortions every year, and at least for now, the U.S. government is the world's largest donor to global health programs, which means that the strings it attaches to its funding have enormous impact. The Global Gag Rule was first signed by President Ronald Reagan in 1984, then reversed by President Bill Clinton, then reinstated by President George W. Bush. After Bush's reinstatement, the U.S. stopped providing aid to groups it said were violating the Gag Rule in 20 different countries, and many clinics were forced to limit the services they offered or even close. Now that Trump has reinstated the Gag Rule, the 47,000 women who die from unsafe abortion a year will likely be joined by many more.
Other executive orders Trump signed today include one that withdraws the U.S. from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade deal negotiated under Obama, and another that freezes federal workforce hiring.
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