Way back in 1984, President Ronald Reagan introduced the Mexico City Policy, a policy that would come to be known as the “Global Gag Rule.” The law denied U.S. international family planning funds to any organization that used its own money to provide, discuss, advocate for, or provide referrals to abortion services abroad. The policy even applied in countries where abortion is legal.
Way back in 1984, President Ronald Reagan introduced the Mexico City Policy, a policy that would come to be known as the “Global Gag Rule.” The law denied U.S. international family planning funds to any organization that used its own money to provide, discuss, advocate for, or provide referrals to abortion services abroad. The policy even applied in countries where abortion is legal.
With the exception of one year during the Clinton administration where Congress forced its application for one year before being repealed through legislation, the Global Gag Rule has only ever been enforced via executive order (including when it was first repealed by President Clinton in 1993). This means that Congress has had virtually no say in its implementation. Rather, the policy always goes straight to the desk of the president. Presidents George Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama have all made their opinions clear on the Global Gag Rule and global reproductive health within the first week of their presidencies. Obama repealed the policy just two days after he took office in 2009, and the US hasn’t enforced it since.
The issue of the Global Gag Rule has come up once again via the 2014 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill. Representatives in the House have proposed an amendment to the budget with similar legislation to the Global Gag Rule. In an opposing effort, Representative Nita Lowey in the House and Senator Boxer in the Senate introduced the Global Democracy Promotion Act, legislation which attempts to permanently revoke the Gag Rule by making it illegal to impose restrictions on U.S. foreign assistance that would be unconstitutional if applied to organizations in our own country.
There’s a chance you’ve never even heard of the Global Gag Rule—I hadn’t until my Health Care as a Global Human Right class in college. Perhaps the reason that the Global Gag Rule has stirred up little controversy inside the United States is due to the fact that it is a policy that doesn’t directly affect the rights of US citizens. Regardless, it is imperative that we remove the Global Gag Rule for good. In practice, this policy not only prevents women from getting abortions but it prevents any counseling or even mention of the full range of a woman’s reproductive health options, creating a potentially dangerous situation for many women.
The law has been teeter-tottering in and out of existence since its introduction, becoming a predictably inconsistent part of US foreign aid policy. The rule’s constant fluxed state provides confusing and spotty support for countries that rely on U.S. international family planning funds. Women across the world deserve reliable health care.