Recipients of U.S. foreign assistance are now required to declare that the funds they receive will not be used to promote or perform abortions or gender-transition procedures.
- The U.S. Department of State reinstated and expanded the “Mexico City Policy,” initiated by President Ronald Reagan, under which U.S. foreign aid funds may not be used to promote abortion.
- Recipients of U.S. foreign assistance must now declare that funds received in this way will not be used to promote or carry out abortions, gender transitions, or discriminatory DEI practices.
- The new rules cover all U.S. foreign assistance (excluding military assistance) and apply to a wide range of areas, such as global health programs, humanitarian assistance, and economic and development assistance.
- This recent decision by the current Republican administration fits into broader efforts by the authorities there to limit the use of American taxpayers’ money for promoting ideological programs abroad, and it goes against the European Union’s policy of promoting abortion and gender ideology worldwide.
No to federal funding of abortion
On Tuesday, January 27, the U.S. Department of State announced the introduction of new rules for U.S. foreign aid. According to three comprehensive documents published by the department, foreign aid provided by the United States is to be consistent with the current administration’s stance, which opposes the promotion of gender ideology, the introduction of discriminatory practices referred to as “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI), or the promotion of abortion abroad as a method of family planning.
Three documents published by the Department of State, namely “Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance, PLFA,”“Combating Gender Ideology in Foreign Assistance, CGIFA,” and “Combating Discriminatory Equity Ideology in Foreign Assistance, CDEIFA” were prepared to implement the United States’ foreign policy of not supporting harmful ideologies beyond the country’s borders, thus countering the European Union’s policy abroad. Pursuant to changes implemented by the Department of State, a new requirement has been added for the U.S. Government to award grants, enter into cooperative agreements, and make voluntary contributions. It imposes certain requirements on U.S. and foreign non-governmental organizations, international organizations, foreign governments, and quasi-governmental entities regarding the non-promotion of ideologies and views deemed harmful by the United States. In this case, the legal basis consisted primarily of the provisions of the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act, which grant the U.S. administration broad authority to regulate foreign assistance matters.
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