Reinstating and Expanding the Global Gag Rule: A Threat to the Lives of Vulnerable Girls and Women

PMNCH expresses deep concern regarding the recent executive order by the United States government reinstating the Global Gag Rule, also known as the Mexico City Policy. This policy prohibits international organizations that receive U.S. global health funding from providing abortion services, counseling, or advocacy, even with their own non-U.S. funds. PMNCH is particularly concerned by the unprecedented expansion of the Policy in 2017.  This decision represents a direct assault on global efforts to safeguard the health and rights of women, children, and adolescents and a significant setback on efforts to ensure access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).   

Potential Negative Impacts of the Global Gag Rule 

Reinstating the Global Gag Rule undermines global health programs by restricting funding for organizations that provide integrated healthcare. These restrictions exacerbate challenges in addressing maternal mortality, unintended pregnancies, and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS. Organizations that refuse to comply with the rule often face funding shortfalls, leading to the disruption of essential services such as contraceptive provision, prenatal care, and post-abortion care. The policy’s chilling effect on advocacy also stifles critical efforts to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights globally. 

Each reinstatement of the Global Gag Rule has led to disruptions in the delivery of essential health services, particularly for the most marginalized communities worldwide. This policy does not only affect abortion-related services, but it also disrupts entire health systems, weakening essential programs for maternal health, contraception, HIV/AIDS, and primary healthcare.  

A Step Away from Human Rights and Towards Increased Maternal Mortality 

Evidence demonstrates that reducing access to legal, safe and respectful abortion services can drive women to seek unsafe, often life-threatening alternatives. According to the WHO, nearly half of all abortions worldwide are unsafe and unsafe abortions account for up to 13% of maternal deaths globally. The reinstatement of the Global Gag Rule risks exacerbating these patterns, endangering lives and undermining sexual and reproductive health and rights. Comprehensive reproductive health services, including access to contraception and safe abortion, are essential for improving women’s health, empowering communities, and achieving global health targets. 

Call for Global Collaboration 

In light of this policy shift, PMNCH calls on the global community to strengthen collective efforts to mitigate its impact. We must not allow this policy to dismantle decades of progress in women’s, children’s, and adolescents’ health. The reinstatement of the Global Gag Rule is a test of our collective resolve. PMNCH reaffirms its commitment to stand against policies that endanger lives, deepen inequities, and silence those who fight for health and justice, and will continue advocating for the health and rights of women, children, and adolescents, including comprehensive SRHR. We urge policymakers, stakeholders, and allies worldwide to stand united in protecting access to life-saving reproductive health services and to counteract the adverse effects of the Global Gag Rule, take measures for the permanent repeal of this devastating policy and resist its normalization in global health. 

Now is the time to act—not just in resistance, but in unwavering solidarity and commitment to the rights of every woman, every child, and every adolescent.