Share

What Is the Mexico City Policy? Trump’s Abortion Policy Change Explained


President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday reinstating and significantly expanding the “Mexico City Policy.”

The policy cuts off U.S. aid to any foreign organization that provides abortion services, counseling, or advocacy, marking the most extensive version of these restrictions since its creation in 1984.

Newsweek contacted a Trump spokesperson via email on Saturday for comment.

Why It Matters

The expansion transforms a $600 million family planning policy into a sweeping $12 billion restriction affecting global health assistance across multiple sectors.

Organizations now face an unprecedented choice—either cease all abortion-related services, including counseling and advocacy, or lose crucial U.S. health assistance funding. This affects not just reproductive health services, but also critical programs for HIV/AIDS treatment, malaria prevention, maternal health, and childhood disease prevention.

The impact extends beyond direct health care provision. Organizations must now certify they will not use funding from any source—including non-U.S. donors—for abortion-related services if they wish to receive U.S. assistance. This requirement will force health care providers to either significantly modify their services or seek alternative funding sources, potentially creating gaps in essential health services in vulnerable communities.

Historical Context

The “Mexico City Policy” originated at a 1984 United Nations (U.N.) conference where former Republican President Ronald Reagan first announced these restrictions on U.S. foreign aid, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).

For 41 years, the policy has served as a partisan touchpoint in American politics, with each party taking opposite stances. Every newly elected Democratic president has rescinded it, while every Republican president has reinstated it.

Critics dubbed it the “global gag rule” because it restricts not just services but also speech—organizations cannot even discuss abortion with patients using any funding source.

The U.S. has been sued in the past over the policy, though the lawsuits have been unsuccessful. The Planned Parenthood Federation of America sued the U.S. Agency for International Development in 1987 in an attempt to reverse the rule. The U.S. Supreme Court later dismissed the case.

In 1989, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the Mexico City Policy didn’t violate constitutional rights to freedom of speech after the government was sued by the DKT Memorial Fund.

Prior to Trump’s expansion, the policy specifically targeted family planning programs. However, Trump’s new directive explicitly extends these restrictions “to global health assistance furnished by all departments or agencies,” marking the broadest interpretation in the policy’s history.

Policy Implementation

Trump’s expansion fundamentally changes how the policy works. According to KFF analysis, the restrictions now apply to assistance through three key departments:

  • U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
  • Department of State, including global HIV/AIDS programs
  • Department of Defense (newly included under expansion)

This represents a significant broadening from the original policy, which only affected family planning assistance through USAID.

Real-World Impact

The policy’s effects are already visible in vulnerable communities.

MSI Reproductive Choices, formerly known as Marie Stopes International, a global healthcare provider, told National Public Radio (NPR) that it had to shut down 21 of its 22 mobile contraceptive clinics in Madagascar after losing U.S. funding, eliminating access to free contraceptives in many areas.

Newsweek contacted MSI Reproductive Choices via email on Saturday for comment.

Donald Trump
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after signing a series of executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on January 23, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump signed a range of executive…


What People Are Saying

Elyssa Koren, legal communications director for ADF International, an advocacy group that opposes abortion rights, told NPR: “It prioritizes what developing countries actually need, which is real development assistance not the promotion of coercive or controversial agendas.”

Elizabeth Sully, principal research scientist at the Guttmacher Institute, told NPR that the policy “silences what organizations can even say about abortion in their own countries.”

What Happens Next

Global health organizations now face difficult choices about their operations and funding sources. Many will need to either modify their services or seek alternative funding to maintain operations.

The policy’s expanded scope means even organizations primarily focused on non-reproductive health services must evaluate their activities and partnerships.

Health care providers and researchers will continue monitoring the policy’s impact on global health outcomes, particularly in regions most dependent on U.S. aid.



Source link