Presidential Memorandum
Released on January 23, 2017
Summary
The Trump Administration has reinstated the Mexico City Policy, which was rescinded by both President Clinton and President Obama. The Mexico City Policy is a policy of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) which prohibits foreign family-planning NGOs from receiving US federal funding if they perform or “actively promote abortion as a method of family planning.” The current administration has extended the policy to apply to all “global health assistance” NGOs instead of just those which focus on family planning. LEARN MORE
Analysis
The Mexico City Policy is a regressive and restrictive gag order which ultimately does more harm than good. In a research paper published by the World Health Organization (WHO), they found a correlation between years in which the Mexico City Policy was in effect and higher abortion rates in sub-Saharan Africa. Contrary to assumptions, it appears as though the Mexico City Policy actually increases abortion rates. When successful organizations are prohibited from receiving funding, they cannot provide a multitude of other family-planning resources, which can lead to unintended pregnancies and poorly-planned family lifestyle. LEARN MORE
Engagement Resources
- Population Action International — An international NGO which focuses on family planning. PAI is focusing a campaign against Trump’s gag order.
- National Coalition Against Censorship — NCAC is a large coalition of members from many different areas of influence who fight for freedom from censorship. NCAC has an opposition case against the Mexico City Policy.
- Center for Reproductive Rights — CRR works with the law to expand reproductive rights for all governments across the globe.
This brief was compiled by Jacob Malinowski. If you have comments or want to add the name of your organization to this brief, please contact jacob@usresistnews.org.