Global Gag Research Articles

Revocation of the Reinstatement of the “Mexico City Policy” on US Family Planning Assistance

Revocation of the Reinstatement of the “Mexico City Policy” on US Family Planning Assistance

Obama Rescinds Mexico City Policy on Funding

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The Global Gag Rule: An Antithesis to the Rights-Based Approach to Health

F amily planning assistance in the US has directly advanced, supported, and helped to build the infrastructure of family planning services in over 50 countries around the world since 1965. Family planning funds, channelled through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), have allowed women and families around the world to improve their quality of life.2 Tragically, in recent years, it has become harder for USAID to achieve successes in family planning. Restrictions placed on US family planning funds have created lasting damage to family planning programs around the world that rely on US support. On his first day in office in 2001, President George W. Bush reinstated a controversial policy (first instituted by the Reagan Administration in 1984) that infringes on the rights to health and life of women living in developing countries.3 The policy in question, officially known as the Mexico City Policy,

Abortion politics and the impact on reproductive health care

Abortion politics and the impact on reproductive health care

Abortion and Postabortion Care: Ethical, Legal, and Policy Issues in Developing Countries

This case study of a woman who wants to terminate her pregnancy but does not have access to safe services explores the technical, ethical, and legal effects of the Mexico City Policy (Global Gag Rule) on health care providers working in developing countries. This woman's self-induced termination resulted in an incomplete abortion, and she sought care from a midwife. The current Mexico City Policy effectively limits a health care provider's ability to offer abortion services and counseling, even when these services are legal. The policy has an adverse impact on women's access to safe care. The provision of comprehensive postabortion care, not restricted by the Mexico City Policy, is the key to preventing abortion-related morbidity and mortality.

What You Need to Know about the Global Gag Rule and U.S. HIV/AIDS Assistance: An Unofficial Guide

The Mexico City Policy, also known as the Global Gag Rule, was reinstated in 2001. It is a complicated policy for which explanations are rarely brief. Consequently, it is widely misunderstood and often over-interpreted. Anecdotal evidence from the field strongly suggests that the Global Gag Rule restrictions on U.S. family planning assistance are being mistakenly applied to other U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) accounts, especially U.S. assistance for HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care. The purpose of this guide is to clarify that the Global Gag Rule does not apply to HIV/AIDS assistance from the U.S. government. And further, foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) providing HIV/AIDS-related services are eligible to receive U.S. HIV/AIDS assistance, regardless of their eligibility to receive U.S. family planning assistance. This guide also seeks to help current and potential recipients better understand the restrictions governing U.S. HIV/AIDS assistance.

Power and Politics in International Funding for Reproductive Health: the US Global Gag Rule

Since 2001, the US government has used its power as a leading donor to family planning programmes to pursue policies in conflict with global agreements on reproductive rights. Prominent among these policies is the Mexico City Policy (or Global Gag Rule), which restricts non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in developing countries that receive USAID family planning funding from engaging in most abortion-related activities, even with their own funds. This paper reviews the history and political origins of the Gag Rule under several Republican party presidents. The Gag Rule has not achieved an overall reduction in abortions; rather, where it has disrupted family planning services, the policy is more likely to have increased the number of abortions. This paper concludes that the Gag Rule is a radical intrusion on the rights and autonomy of recipients of US funding. Regardless of whether or not it is rescinded in future, the underlying issues in the politics of US reproductive health assistance are likely to persist. NGOs that wish to free themselves from the constraints it imposes must find the means to end their dependence on USAID funding, including turning to other donors. NGOs should also take the lead in opposing policies such as the Gag Rule that violate global agreements.

What does Latin Aamerican social medicine do when it governs? The case of the Mexico City government.

Latin American social medicine (LASM) emerged as a movement in the 1970s and played an important role in the Brazilian health care reform of the 1980s, both of which focused on decentralization and on health care as a social right. The dominant health care reform model in Latin America has included a market-driven, private subsystem for the insured and a public subsystem for the uninsured and the poor. In contrast, the Mexico City government has launched a comprehensive policy based on social rights and redistribution of resources. A universal pension for senior citizens and free medical services are financed by grants, eliminating routine government corruption and waste. The Mexico City policy reflects the influence of Latin American social medicine. In this article, I outline the basic traits of LASM and those of the prevailing health care reform model in Latin America and describe the Mexico City social and health policy, emphasizing the influence of LASM in values, principles, and concrete programs.

Women's health advocates sue Bush over global gag rule in USA

Women's health advocates sue Bush over global gag rule in USA

Public health. The Mexico City policy and U.S. family planning assistance.

In January 2001, President George W. Bush reimposed a set of restrictions, known as the Mexico City policy, on international family planning assistance provided through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The policy prohibits private overseas grantees of U.S. family planning funding and technical assistance from using their own non-U.S. funds to provide legal abortions (except in the case of rape, incest, or life-threatening conditions), to counsel on abortions (with the same exceptions), and to promote less restrictive laws pertaining to abortion in their own countries. This Policy Forum outlines policy and the public health-relevant positions of proponents and opponents of the policy, and reviews the conclusions of a USAID-funded qualitative study of the policy which was conducted in 1990.

Reinstatement of the US “Mexico City Policy”

On 22 January 2001, the third day of the new US administration (the day that also marked the twenty‐eighth anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the US Supreme Court decision that liberalized abortion). President Bush issued an executive order, taking the form of a memorandum addressed to the Administrator of the Agency for International Development on the subject of “Restoration of the Mexico City Policy.” The executive order reinstates the US policy promulgated at the International Conference on Population held in Mexico City in 1984 (see “Documents” in the September 1984 issue of this journal). The Mexico City policy was rescinded on 22 January 1993 when President Clinton took office (see “Documents” in the March 1993 issue of this journal). The full text of President Bush's memorandum as released by the White House is reproduced below.

The US global gag rule violates human rights

The US global gag rule violates human rights

Rescission of the US "Mexico City Policy"

Rescission of the US "Mexico City Policy"

Political and economic factors influencing contraceptive uptake.

International, national and local level politics influence the uptake of contraception through consensuses, laws, financial and moral support or the creation of an enabling atmosphere. Opposition to contraception generally comes from some churches and groups opposed to particular technologies. Socio-economic factors, particularly education, the health care system and the perceived or actual cost of fertility regulation as compared to benefits expected from children also powerfully influence contraceptive use. For many poor women in developing countries their powerlessness in relation to their male partners is an important obstacle.

Compliance with AID's Mexico City Policy Has Been Careful and Complete, Recent Analysis Concludes

This paper presents the findings of an evaluation study conducted by the US Agency for International Development (AID) to assess the compliance of grantees and subgrantees with the terms of the Mexico City Policy which prohibits financial contributions that support and promote abortions. It also determined the policys impact on the operation of family planning programs. The activities of five major grantees or cooperating agencies were reviewed during the course of the study. Results showed that all of the cooperating agencies were taking reasonable steps to ensure their compliance with the policy. There was no indication that any of the subprojects is carrying out or promoting abortion. The investigators concluded by giving recommendations to clarify the clause in the AID agreement. Moreover the statement of Duff Gillespie director of the Office of Population of AID in response to a US court case that challenges the constitutionality of the Mexico City Policy is briefly discussed.