“I further direct the Secretary of State to take all necessary actions, to the extent permitted by law, to ensure that U.S. taxpayer dollars do not fund organizations or programs that support or participate in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization,” the memorandum read.
Trump previously reinstated the Mexico City Policy in 2020. The global gag rule was first started in the Reagan administration. Since then, presidents have alternated between Democrats rescinding the policy and Republicans renewing it. Former President Joe Biden kept the tradition alive when he rescinded the policy in 2021.
Trump also signed an executive order that further strengthens the Hyde Amendment, which bans federal funding for abortion.
During his presidency, Biden sought to circumvent the Hyde Amendment. He enacted policies that funded active-duty military personnel and their dependents’ transportation costs to travel across state lines for abortions. The Department of Veterans Affairs was also providing access to abortion counseling and in some instances performing abortions for VA beneficiaries.
Trump’s executive order and memorandum come on the same day as the March for Life was held in Washington, D.C., where thousands gathered to protest against abortion access.
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Anti-abortion leader and Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins thanked Trump for reinstating the policy.
“Thank You, President Trump, for again signing the Executive Order to enforce the Reagan-era Mexico City Policy, which will stop the flow of our hard-earned tax dollars from paying for abortions in other countries!” Hawkins posted on X. “Next, we must debar & defund Planned Parenthood, in the U.S. and worldwide. A humane country tries to alleviate suffering rather than paying to end the lives of those the abortion industry claims might suffer.”
