The US administration will expand a ban on US foreign aid to groups that support abortion services to include aid going to international and domestic organizations, as well as agencies that promote gender identity, as well as diversity, equality and inclusion programs.
An unnamed administration official said today that the State Department will issue final rules expanding the scope of the so-called “Mexico City” policy, which has already significantly reduced aid to international organizations that provide abortion-related care.
Those rules were first established under President Ronald Reagan, then repealed by Democratic administrations, but were reinstated during Trump's first term.
The new rules, first reported by Fox News, would halt foreign aid not only to groups that provide abortion as a method of family planning, but also to those that advocate “gender ideology” and diversity, according to an unnamed official.
Those rules are due to be entered into the Federal Register tomorrow.
The official said the expanded policy would apply to more than $30 billion in foreign aid provided by the United States and would cover not only foreign and U.S. aid agencies, but also international organizations.
“Simply put, the White House is jeopardizing medically necessary health care for people around the world in the service of a political agenda,” said Human Rights Campaign President Kelly Robinson (Kelley).
It is not yet clear what the impact of the expanded ban on foreign aid will be. The Trump administration has already cut hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid and disbanded the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which was the main provider of American aid.
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