State Department Anti-Abortion Rule Affects Almost $9B In Global Aid

The State Department will restrict $8.8 billion in global health funding to organizations that agree not to discuss or provide abortion services to patients, including health care providers fighting HIV/AIDS and malaria in poor countries, officials have confirmed. Previously, this rule, known as the "Mexico City policy," applied to around only $600 million in funding.

This policy, which critics call the "Global Gag Rule," is enacted under Republican presidents and suspended under Democratic presidents, dating back to 1984. But the newest instantiation of the law will have a much larger effect than previous versions have had, primarily because of its impact on the funding of the PEPFAR program, which provides care and treatment to address the spread of HIV/AIDS around the world. Under other presidents, the rule only covered funding that went to family planning programs.

Even without the Mexico City Policy, American law prevents any federal funding from directly paying for abortion services.

Officials at the State Department said they are not sure how many programs this new version of the rule will affect, because some programs may agree to stop administering or discussing abortion as a result of this rule. The administration does not intend to reduce the amount of funding that goes toward aid programs because of the policy; instead, officials say they will find programs to fund that comply with the administration's strictures.

Critics argue this rule hurts women and families in the developing world by severely limiting their options for family planning. Proponents of the policy welcome the fact that the policy may reduce funding to abortion providers and limit the number of abortions globally. It's also not clear yet if the administration will be able to find enough suitable programs that will agree to the rule and still maintain consistent levels of aid and funding for the people who need it.

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