New Bill Seeks to Block Dramatically Expanded Trump Global Gag Rule

The Protecting Human Rights and Public Health in Foreign Assistance Act would nullify the Global Gag Rule, which has weaponized foreign assistance, forcing an extreme ideological agenda on the world.

PAI applauds the bicameral introduction of the Protecting Human Rights and Public Health in Foreign Assistance Act today by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Representatives Grace Meng (D-NY), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Diana DeGette (D-C), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Sara Jacobs (D-C), and Gregory Meeks (D-NY) in the House. This bill is a response to the radical and dangerous overreach by the Trump administration in expanding the already deadly Global Gag Rule to new issues, new entities, and new funding.

“We know that attacks on the most vulnerable do not make America safer or more prosperous and will instead cause devastating harm to women, girls, LGBTQ individuals, and other at-risk communities worldwide,” said Nabeeha Kazi Hutchins, President and CEO of PAI. “Congress must take immediate action to ensure that the dramatically expanded Global Gag Rule is not implemented. U.S. foreign assistance dollars – funded by taxpayers – cannot be weaponized by the administration to impose this destructive agenda and dictate what global health entities can do with their own money.”

The expanded Global Gag Rule imposes restrictions on:

1. All non-military foreign assistance;
2. All partners (American and foreign NGOs, UN and multilateral partners, and foreign governments); and
3. Comprehensive reproductive care and advocacy, as well as new prohibitions on gender and DEI policies and programs.

By prohibiting any U.S. foreign aid funding for bodies that promote, provide, or advocate for abortion, or that promote ‘gender ideology’ and ‘discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion’ — even if they do these things with non-U.S. funding — the administration is attempting to roll back global human rights.

PAI has been fighting against all forms of the Global Gag Rule since it was first imposed in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan. Every Democratic administration has since rescinded it, and every Republican administration has re-imposed it, playing politics with people’s lives. Restrictive U.S. foreign policies, such as the Global Gag Rule, impose enormous burdens on country- and community-led efforts to meet local needs. As one of the world’s largest donors of health and development assistance, encumbering U.S. funding with this deadly policy–and any other funding it touches–will severely and negatively impact millions of people around the world. Rather than promoting peace, stability, and global health, the Global Gag Rule makes aid less effective, wasting taxpayer dollars.

PAI urges Members of Congress to cosponsor and pass this critical legislation. We will also work alongside our 77 partners in 35 countries to document the policy’s impacts, capture affected communities’ stories, and amplify these on-the-ground voices and data showing the human cost of these restrictions. More information can be found at globalgagrule.org.