Pres. Donald Trump will sign the executive order defunding the International Planned Parenthood on Sunday, which coincides with the 44th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling that made abortion legal in the U.S.
Trump will sign an executive order reinstating the Mexico City Policy, also called the “global gag rule” by abortion rights groups, on Jan. 22, a congressional staffer informed Foreign Policy. It will be one of Trump’s first policy moves as the newly inaugurated president.
The Mexico City Policy bars federal funding or foreign aid for health services overseas that provide abortion or promote abortion as a family planning method. Basically, under this policy, organizations that receive federal funds are required to “agree as a condition of their receipt of federal funds that such organizations would neither perform nor actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations.”
It was called Mexico City Policy because it was introduced at a United Nations Conference held in Mexico City. Its implementation has kept changing over the years, depending on who sits as president. Republican presidents generally take a pro-life stance while Democratic presidents support abortion rights, according to Reuters.
Approved by Pres. Ronald Reagan in 1984, it was implemented that same year and was in effect until 1993 when Pres. Bill Clinton overturned it. In 2001, Pres. George W. Bush reinstated it, but Pres. Barack Obama overturned it again in 2009 at the 36th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade.
Obama said he believed the government “should not intrude” on the Americans’ “most private family matters.”
“I remain committed to protecting a woman's right to choose,” Obama said at the time.
Every year, rhe U.S. government gives an estimated $400 million for family planning services overseas. Reinstating the Mexico City Policy would make international organizations like Planned Parenthood ineligible for federal funds. It would also effectively defund the United Nations Population Fund, which was reportedly connected with abortions related to China’s one-child and two-child policies.
If Trump pushes for the implementation of the Mexico City Policy, he would be acting in line with a campaign promise that he would support pro-life policies.
So far, America’s 45th president has fulfilled a few of the promises he gave during the campaign. Just a few hours after he was inaugurated on Friday, he signed an executive order that orders Congress to start the repeal of the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare.
He also returned the bust of Winston Churchill, which was sculpted by Jacob Epstein, to the Oval Office when he moved to the White House after his inauguration.
A day before his inauguration, he assured Israel that he has not forgotten his promise to move Israel’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, saying he was not one to break promises, according to Israel Hayom. The fulfillment of this promise is yet to be seen in the coming days.
