U.S. President Donald Trump has reinstated the Mexico City Policy, which blocks U.S. federal funding to international nongovernmental organizations that either provide abortions or information about them, even if other donors fund these services.
The executive order, issued late Friday, applies the policy to all global health assistance funding and mandates a plan to include funds “furnished by all departments or agencies.” It does not, however, expand the Mexico City Policy to all foreign affairs funding, which some had anticipated.
The policy is known for its swift instatement by Republican presidents and revocation by Democrats since its creation by President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. It complements the Helms amendment, which since 1961 has prohibited the use of U.S. foreign assistance funding for abortions.
About the authors
Elissa Miolene
Elissa Miolene reports on USAID and the U.S. government at Devex. She previously covered education at The San Jose Mercury News, and has written for outlets like The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Washingtonian magazine, among others. Before shifting to journalism, Elissa led communications for humanitarian agencies in the United States, East Africa, and South Asia.
Adva Saldinger@AdvaSal
Adva Saldinger is a Senior Reporter at Devex where she covers development finance, as well as U.S. foreign aid policy. Adva explores the role the private sector and private capital play in development and authors the weekly Devex Invested newsletter bringing the latest news on the role of business and finance in addressing global challenges. A journalist with more than 10 years of experience, she has worked at several newspapers in the U.S. and lived in both Ghana and South Africa.
