Trump administration has expanded ban on funding for abortions

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The administration of Donald Trump has expanded its ban on funding for groups carrying out abortions or advocate rights known as the global gag rule. Trump had already expanded the reach of the funding ban to apply to all U.S healthcare assistance totaling at least $6 billion. The U.S president restored a policy known as the ‘Mexico City Policy’ on his 4^th day in office. However, the Reagan administration required foreign NGOs (non-governmental organizations) that receive U.S family planning funds to certify they don’t provide abortions or give abortion advice.

Now, the Trump administration has announced that they are expanding its anti-abortion policies and cutting funding to the OAS (Organization of American States) and banning the use of U.S tax dollars to lobby for or against abortion rights. The extension of the policy will not just cut funding to foreign NGOs directly involved in abortions or abortion rights advocacy, but also those who fund or support other groups which provide or discuss abortion. The move has been fiercely criticized by abortion rights campaigners and Democrats. The U.S House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted, “There is no end to the depths of the Trump administration’s cruelty. Millions of women will be arbitrarily left without care due to this shameful decision”.

Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen is the only woman on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and co-sponsor of a bipartisan bill making the Mexico City Policy illegal. She said that she had asked the Trump administration for more information behind the decision. She said, “This administration’s obsession with attacking women’s reproductive health is egregious and dangerous”. The head of Planned Parenthood, Leana Wen vowed Trump in his presidential campaign to defund for providing abortions. She described the announcement as unethical, dangerous, and unacceptable. It is noteworthy that studies have indicated that the Mexico City Policy would lead to an increase in abortion rates due to the cuts to contraception use and closures of health clinics.