The Global Gag Rule restricts foreign organisations from supporting abortion services if they receive US funding. Last week it was reinstated by the new Republican administration, impacting human rights, particularly for vulnerable communities.

On Friday, the Trump administration reinstated the Global Gag Rule, a harmful and regressive policy that restricts US foreign assistance to organisations providing, counselling, or advocating for legal abortion services—regardless of local laws or non-US funding sources. This action represents a significant setback for global health, gender equality and human rights, particularly for vulnerable communities who already face systemic barriers to accessing critical health care. 

The Global Gag Rule – a history

The Global Gag Rule was first introduced as the “Mexico City Policy” by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. It blocked federal funding and forced foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to stop providing abortion services, counselling, referrals, or advocating to decriminalise abortion, even when they used their own money. This put organisations in a position where they either lost existing funding for not complying with the policy or were able to keep US funding but forced to stop providing comprehensive reproductive health care.  

Since its introduction, every Democratic president has repealed the Global Gag Rule, and every Republican president has reinstated it. Even after previous administrations lifted the policy, the fear of future reinstatement and the disruption of services have created lasting uncertainty and delay in resuming vital health programmes. The worst iteration of the Gag Rule was under Trump’s first presidency. He renamed the policy “Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance” and expanded it twice to encompass the vast majority of US bilateral global health assistance.  

Its impact

The Global Gag Rule is devastating because it causes the most vulnerable women and girls to lose access to vital sexual and reproductive health services – not just abortion care but also access to contraception, cancer screenings and so on. There is no evidence that it achieves its intended aim, decreasing abortions. In fact, evidence suggests that it increases the number of unwanted pregnancies and forces more women to seek out unsafe abortions. The policy has also led to the closure of clinics, the dismantling of outreach programmes, and the elimination of services critical to the health and well-being of underserved populations. 

By denying individuals access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services and accurate information, the Global Gag Rule violates international human rights standards. It disproportionately affects women and girls, particularly those from marginalised communities, and exacerbates gender-based discrimination by restricting their autonomy to make their own reproductive choices.