Global Gag Rule
PAI Applauds Obama for Repeal of Bush's Global Gag Rule, Helping Save Women's Lives
February 11, 2009In a decision that will help prevent unintended pregnancies, reduce abortions and, ultimately, save women's lives around the world, on January 23, President Obama rescinded the damaging Global Gag Rule and stated his intentions to fund UNFPA. Read more.
PAI Urges Obama to Repeal Bush's Global Gag Rule, Save Women's Lives
January 15, 2009Today, Population Action International (PAI) urged President-elect Obama to quickly take executive action to repeal the Global Gag Rule—a Bush-era restriction on USAID family planning funding that has cost thousands of lives in developing countries around the world. Read more.
Access Denied - U.S. Restrictions on International Family Planning
January 3, 2005The Global Gag Rule was reinstated by President George W. Bush on his first day in office in January 2001. Officially termed the Mexico City Policy, these restrictions mandate that no U.S. family planning assistance can be provided to foreign NGOs that use funding from any other source to: perform abortions in cases other than a threat to the woman’s life, rape or incest; provide counseling and referral for abortion; or lobby to make abortion legal or more available in their country. [Read more]
Global Gag Rule Timeline
What You Need To Know About the Global Gag Rule Restrictions On U.S. Family Planning Assistance
July 11, 2006(Updated report published as What You Need To Know About the Mexico City Policy Restrictions On U.S. Family Planning Assistance). [Read more]
What You Need to Know About the Global Gag Rule and U.S. HIV/AIDS Assistance
August 15, 2001The Mexico City Policy, also known as the Global Gag Rule, was reinstated in 2001. It is a complicated policy for which explanations are rarely brief. Consequently, it is widely misunderstood and often over-interpreted. [Read more]
Emergency Contraception and the Global Gag Rule
January 1, 2003While family planning opponents often misrepresent emergency contraception (EC) as medical abortion, in reality, EC is the only method of post-coital contraception. The purpose of this guide is to set the record straight: emergency contraception is just that – contraception – which can be used in an emergency situation, whether a condom breaks or circumstances lead to unprotected intercourse. [Read more.]
Fact Sheet: How the Global Gag Rule Undermines U.S. Foreign Policy and Harms Women's Health
Family planning
opponents in the U.S. Congress have long sought to place burdensome restrictions
on U.S. population assistance. One such restriction is the Mexico City Policy,
known to its opponents as the Global Gag Rule, which has proven detrimental to
America’s foreign policy objectives, to family planning programs in developing
countries, and to women’s health.
[Read more]
Press Release 2007: Senate Appropriations Committee to Vote on Bill that Overturns Destructive Global Health Policies on Contraceptives and HIV/AIDS
June 28, 2007Senate Appropriations Committee to Vote on Bill that Overturns Destructive Global Health Policies on Contraceptives and HIV/AIDS; President Has Threatened a Veto. [Read more]
Press Release 2006: PAI Instrumental in Introduction of Contraceptive Supply Bill
February 13, 2006After intensive efforts to educate members of Congress about one of the most egregious unintended consequences of the Global Gag Rule, Population Action International (PAI) applauds the introduction of a bill to address the denial of contraceptives and condoms to couples who wish to use them. [Read more]
Press Release 2007: Statement on the omnibus spending bill/contraceptives exemption
December 17, 2007Statement by Amy Coen, President/CEO of Population Action International, on the omnibus spending bill that omits a provision that would have reduced the need for abortions in developing countries. [Read more]
