ABORTION/BUDGET/FOREIGN POLICY: “The Trump administration said on Monday [5-15-17] it would ban funding to foreign groups that fight AIDS and malaria in a vast expansion of the so-called global gag rule that withholds American aid from health organizations worldwide that provide or even discuss abortion in family planning.
The new policy potentially will disrupt hundreds of clinics in Africa and around the world. It affects about $8.8 billion in global health funding — up from about $520 million during the administration of President George W. Bush.
The rules, issued by the State Department, mean that any foreign nongovernmental group that wants to take American money for any of its health activities — from AIDS treatment to malaria prevention to safe childbirth practices — must first promise not to ‘promote abortion as a method of family planning,’ including abortion counseling. United States law already prohibits the use of American taxpayer dollars for abortion services abroad, including in countries where the procedure is legal.”
-Gardiner Harris and Somini Segupta, “Trump to Sharply Expand Ban on Funding to Groups That Discuss Abortion,” The New York Times online, May 15, 2017