On International Women's Day, 'Mexico City Policy' Is Huge Setback for Global Health Care Human Rights Watch
go to original March 8, 2017

Trump's New Global Gag Rule Puts Women's Lives at Risk (HumanRightsWatch)

The expanded “Mexico City Policy” or “Global Gag Rule” issued by United States President Donald Trump is a profound setback to hard-fought gains for women and girls’ health in countries around the world, Human Rights Watch said on International Women’s Day.

Human Rights Watch issued a question-and-answer document and short video to explain how the policy, issued on January 23, 2017, works and why it is likely to have devastating consequences, including unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and maternal deaths.

“Perversely, the US government is using its position as the largest global donor on health to restrict access to important health services,” said Nisha Varia, women’s rights advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “Instead of helping improve health in low- and middle-income countries, the US will be undermining progress.”

On his first full day in office, US President Donald Trump issued an expanded “Global Gag Rule,” or “Mexico City Policy,” which strips foreign nongovernmental organizations of all US health funding if they use funds from any source to offer information about abortions, provide abortions, or advocate liberalizing abortion laws.

Read the rest at Human Rights Watch

Related: Better Access to Birth Control Would Lift Many Women Out of Poverty, Melinda Gates Says (The Star)

Related: Mexico City Policy Damaging To Women’s Health, Should Be Repealed (Toronto Sun)

Related: Center for Global Health Policy Examines Reinstatement, Expansion Of Mexico City Policy (Science Speaks Blog)

Related: United States Foreign Policy Harms Women’s Reproductive Rights Around the World: The Impact on Latin America (Council on Hemispheric Affairs)

Related: Gagged and Bound: Abortion, the Mexico City Policy and the Cost of Silence (Daily Maverick)

Related: In Photos: Women Strike, Protest, and Rally for a #DayWithoutAWoman (Common Dreams)

Related: $190 Million Raised to Fill Aid Gap Left By Trump's Abortion Rule (WFDD)

Related: Donald Trump Tweeted About International Women's Day. It Backfired. (The Huffington Post)

Related: International Women's Day Is a Good Time to Remember That Women Are Still Struggling for Parity in the Workforce (Insider)

Related: International Women's Day 2017: Five things You Need to Know About Today (Independent UK)

Related: Huge Crowd Marches on White House to Protest Trump's Global Gag Rule (Common Dreams)

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