1. What’s at Stake for Women: Threat of the Global Gag Rule
- Author:
- Kiersten Gillette-Pierce and Jamila Taylor
- Publication Date:
- 01-2017
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for American Progress - CAP
- Abstract:
- President Donald Trump is likely to follow the tradition of other Republican anti-choice administrations and reinstate the Mexico City Policy, which bans recipients of U.S. foreign aid from offering abortion-related services, as one of his first executive actions. Better known as the Global Gag Rule and first introduced in 1984 at the U.N. International Conference on Population held in Mexico City, the policy has been a barrier to comprehensive women’s health care on a global scale.1 Made U.S. policy through an executive order issued by President Ronald Reagan, it restricts family planning providers from offering comprehensive health care and, when in place, denies international family planning organizations the right to:2 Provide abortion-related information to their patients and clients3 Provide referrals to other health care providers who perform safe abortions4 Provide legal abortions or legal abortion-related services5 Advocate for the legalization of abortion in their country6 The Mexico City Policy infringes upon women’s fundamental right to make informed decisions about their bodies and their health. It denies women access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care that includes abortion care and related information and referrals.
- Topic:
- Health Care Policy, Women, Feminism, Reproductive Rights, and Reproductive Health
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus