The Trump administration instituted an unprecedented expansion of a Reagan-era anti-abortion policy Monday, dramatically cutting U.S. foreign aid access for international healthcare providers that promote abortion rights.In January, President Donald Trump reinstated the Mexico City policy, known as the "global gag rule" among abortion rights activists, which bars funds for international non-government groups that advocate for abortion rights or even discuss abortion's role in family planning. The policy, originally penned by Ronald Reagan, has been rolled back by every Democratic president and reimposed by every Republican one since the 1980s.
But abortion rights activists worried that Trump's version would go even further than past presidents', cutting off not only groups' access to family planning funds, but all aid for US global health assistance. And on Monday, their fears came true. The US State Department announced that its new Mexico City policy, rebranded as "Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance Plan," will for the first time also cut funding to "international health programs, such as those for HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, malaria, global health security, family planning, and reproductive health."Continue reading on VICE News.