Experts have warned the ‘Mexico City policy’ will have ‘deadly consequences’ for people across the globe
Donald Trump has signed a new executive bill that is set to reinstate the ‘global gag rule’ on abortions – but what does it actually mean?
President Trump has been in the Oval Office for just a matter of days but he’s wasted no time getting his feet under the table.
Trump signed off on numerous executive orders – which included halting the ban of TikTok, changing laws on immigration, and declaring that there are ‘only two genders’ – a matter of hours upon his return to the White House.
Now, the president has signed off a new executive bill that is set to reinstate the ‘global gag rule’ on abortions, known as the ‘Mexico City policy’.
Donald Trump has signed off a number of executive orders in his first week (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
What is the Mexico City policy?
The new executive bill, known as the ‘Mexico City policy’, cuts off any aid provided by the US to any foreign organization that provides abortion services, counseling, or even advocacy.
So, essentially, a bunch of companies face a tough choice – either cease all abortion-related services, or they’ll lose assisted funding provided by the US.
In fact, organizations must now provide proof they will not use funding from any other source for abortion-related services, including that of non-US donors, if they want assistance from the US.
History of the Mexico City policy
The ‘Mexico City policy’ is often used by Republican presidents, having first been brought in by Ronald Reagan at a 1984 United Nations conference.
The policy has remained divisive for a number of years and has been yo-yo’d in and out of law – it tends to go that Republicans will sign it in, Democrats will revoke it.
The bill has even been dubbed the ‘global gag rule’ due to it restricting not just services but also speech, according to its harshest critics.
The bill has its critics (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
What impact does the Mexico City policy have in the real world?
The Guttmacher Institute, which looks into stats on abortion restrictions and their subsequent impact, states the policy can cut off access to contraception, while also leading women to go towards unsafe abortions.
Rebecca Hart Holder, who is the president of Reproductive Equity Now, said: “Reinstating the Mexico City policy will have deadly consequences for people across the globe.
“The United States is a vital partner to healthcare providers and organizations around the world, and robbing those frontline providers of their ability to provide the full spectrum of reproductive healthcare, and even information about people’s options, will result in people losing their lives to pregnancy complications.”
