Despicable and unacceptable: The expanded Global Gag Rule

This radically expanded Global Gag Rule is nothing short of a regressive, harmful policy that puts the United States even further out of step with our global counterparts. This is yet another consequential setback for global health and human rights that threatens the lives and well-being of women and girls around the world. It not only aims to ban abortion, but also seeks to restrict work on diversity, equity, and inclusion; advancing gender equality; and LGBTQI+ rights.

This latest and most dangerous iteration of the U.S. policy has also been applied to new issues, new funding, and new recipients. For the first time since it was enacted in 1984, the Global Gag Rule applies to all foreign aid, including humanitarian efforts and programs run by U.S.-based organizations, UN partners, and other governments.

Bullying individual countries’ governments into complying with anti-rights and extremist ideology is despicable and unacceptable. It will wreak havoc on global efforts to improve health, uphold human rights, and achieve gender equality.

Learn more about the Global Gag Rule and Ipas’s work to reduce the harms of U.S. foreign policies.