06 Mar Trump’s Global Gag Rule will hurt Filipinos
Photo by Katie Tegtmeyer and licensed under CC BY 2.5
President Donald Trump reinstated the global gag rule late last month, endangering the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of millions around the world.
The global gag rule forbids international NGOs from talking about abortion if they wish to continue to receive US funding. It doesn’t matter whether these funds are used for something unrelated to abortion advocacy. It also doesn’t matter whether their abortion advocacy is funded by other sources. So long as the NGO discusses abortion, they are disqualified from US funding.
As Claire Padilla, spokesperson of the Philippine Safe Abortion Advocacy Network (PINSAN) explains, this will hurt Filipinos as well:
“Trump’s Global Gag Rule will restrict access to contraceptives and lead to more unintended and unwanted pregnancies, more unsafe abortions, high maternal deaths related to unsafe abortion complications, and increased HIV transmissions.”
RH services that could address these problems will no longer by provided by NGOs that wish to maintain their pro-choice position on abortion.
“USAID used to provide almost half of all global funding for contraceptives,” explains Padilla. “In the Philippines, more Filipino women will die from maternal complications including from pregnancy, childbirth, and complications from unsafe abortion.”
What was originally called the Mexico City policy (after the venue of it was first announced by President Reagan in 1984) the policy has been rescinded and reinstated depending on whether the president is pro- or anti-choice. Consistent with his anti-choice platform, President Trump reinstated the policy, a reversal of Obama’s previous position.