In response to the expected announcement by the Trump administration on Friday of an expansion of the Global Gag Rule blocking US international aid to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counselling or information, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy Policy & Campaigns, Erika Guevara-Rosas, said:
“The expansion of the Global Gag Rule is an assault on human rights. By targeting organizations that support diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and recognize gender diversity, the Trump administration is deliberately deepening inequality and putting the lives of millions around the world at risk.
“The Global Gag Rule is a disastrous and deadly US policy. It strangles healthcare systems, censors information and violates the rights to health, information, and free expression. It forces frontline providers and many struggling organizations that depend on US funding into an impossible choice: limit essential healthcare for the most vulnerable populations or shut their doors.
“The Global Gag Rule is a disastrous and deadly US policy. It forces many struggling organizations that depend on US funding into an impossible choice: limit essential healthcare for the most vulnerable populations or shut their doors.
Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy Policy & Campaigns
“Doubling down on this policy is cruel, reckless and ideologically driven. Expanding it to international and US-based organizations will impact the poorest and marginalized first and hardest, denying people the chance to live full, healthy, autonomous lives where they are able to access rights and services. It is further proof of this US administration’s blatant disregard for international law, universal rights, and the rules-based international order.”
Background:
Trump administration officials told media outlets on Thursday that the expansion of the Global Gag Rule would be announced on Friday. They said the updated policy, which until now impacted organizations operating outside of the United States, will also include international organizations and US nongovernmental organizations.
First instated by President Ronald Reagan in 1984, the Global Gag Rule has been reinstated by several presidents since. Among them, President Trump reinstated and dramatically expanded it during his first term in office and again on 24 January 2025.
Human rights organizations including Amnesty International have documented how the policy has restricted people’s ability to access reproductive healthcare, including safe abortions. Amnesty International has also documented how the Trump administration’s decision on 20 January 2025 to drastically and arbitrarily cut foreign assistance to thousands of life-saving humanitarian, health, and human rights initiatives globally has had a devastating impact on millions of people.
