Ranking Member Shaheen Condemns the Trump Administration’s Reinstatement of the Global Gag Rule

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement on the Trump Administration's reinstatement of the Global Gag Rule (GGR). The GGR, also known as the Mexico City Policy, bans federal funds for foreign non-governmental organizations that use non-U.S. funds to provide abortion services or offer information about abortion as part of comprehensive family planning services. This forces clinics to choose between providing limited reproductive health services while accepting U.S. foreign aid or providing inclusive family planning and reproductive health care with a limited budget:

"The Trump Administration's reinstatement of the Global Gag Rule is a reckless and dangerous move that puts the lives of women and girls around the world at risk. During the first Trump Administration, this same policy devastated family planning services worldwide, leading to the closure of clinics that provide an array of services, including contraception, prenatal care and sexually transmitted infection testing in the communities that need these services most. The result is an increase in maternal and child mortality rates, HIV rates, unplanned pregnancies, abortions and unsafe abortions. The negative impacts of this policy will hit vulnerable populations in underserved regions the hardest, where affected health centers are frequently the only available medical providers for women and families. Women and girls' lives should never be a pawn in ideological battles. It's time for Congress to act and permanently repeal this cruel policy."

Ranking Member Shaheen has been a leading advocate for the repeal of the GGR. In 2017 and 2019, Ranking Member Shaheen and Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced the Global Health, Empowerment, and Rights (HER) Act, which would permanently end the GGR. She has also lead an amendment to end the GGR and boost funds for international family health planning and reproductive health programs which has been included in the Senate's State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs annual appropriations bill. On the one-year anniversary of the GGR's reversal under President Biden, Ranking Member Shaheen led a group of 45 Senators in a letter to Senate and House leadership, urging the inclusion of a permanent repeal of the GGR in the fiscal year (FY) 2022 State, Foreign Operations and Related Agencies government funding legislation. In 2023, she reintroduced the Global HER Act with Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), which was cosponsored by 49 U.S. Senators.

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