Committee on Foreign Affairs hears back-and-forth on global gag rule

By Isabella Goodman

WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, The Committee on Foreign Affairs heard many arguments for and against the Mexico City policy, a policy that cuts foreign aid to countries providing abortion services. 

President Donald Trump reinstated the Mexico City policy, or the global gag rule, in 2017. The expanded version, called “Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance,” states that all foreign nongovernmental organizations that use their own funding to provide abortions or abortion-related services will no longer receive U.S. foreign aid. The policy was first enacted by Ronald Reagan in 1984. 

There were several humanitarian workers and policy experts who served as witnesses for the hearing, “Unique Challenges Women Face in Global Health.”

U.S. Rep Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) gave the opening remarks.

“The number of obstacles that women around the world face in their pursuit of health services is almost too many to list,” Lowey said. “Instead of tackling these issues, President Trump simply created more barriers when he quickly imposed the dangerous, ill-informed, Mexico City policy.”

Lowey urged the committee to consider her bill, H.R. 1055, or the Global Health Empowerment and Rights Act, which would permanently repeal the global gag rule. 

“Passing this legislation would restore our country’s role as an international leader and ensure that women, men, and children around the world are able to access the health care they so desperately need,” Lowey said.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) testified that the U.S. should not be paying for abortions.

“The only organizations to not receive funding under ‘Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance’ are those who have chosen not to accept the policy restrictions that come with U.S. assistance,” Rodgers said. It means we are using resources for the healthcare and lifesaving care of both women and children.”

The first witness was Dr. Jennifer Kates, who works for the Kaiser Family Foundation.

According to Kates, an analysis done by the Kaiser Foundation found that more than half of the countries in which the U.S. provides global healthcare access had abortion laws that were more permissive than the policy allowed.

Kates testified that the Mexico City policy would be counter-intuitive to the goals of the policy. Kates said people were less likely to use contraception when their reproductive education was cut. 

“The reinstated and expanded Mexico City policy for the first time applies to nearly all bilateral U.S. global health assistance,” Kates said. “A recent empirical analysis found that when in place in the past, abortion rates rose, and the use of modern contraception fell in the countries most exposed to the policy.”

A 2019 Lancet study has found that restriction on U.S. assistance to family planning organizations, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, increases abortion within those countries. 

Lisa Bos of World Vision, a faith-based humanitarian organization that provides aid to countries internally, said that while World Vision is a pro-life organization, they have not taken a position on the Mexico City Policy.

“We believe all that all mothers, and their babies, deserve to have the basic information, medical support and care needed to ensure safe deliveries and protection from preventable disease,” Bos said.

Although Bos answered many questions from the committee relating to anti-abortion, her focus largely remained on maternal health and the importance of education and medical services for women and young girls.

 In her testimony, Sheba Crocker, the Vice President for Humanitarian Policy and Practice at CARE USA, focused on addressing gender inequalities. 

She addressed four challenges to women and girls in humanitarian settings: inadequate funding, lack of access from humanitarian workers to populations in need, social norms that expose women and girls to greater health risks and issues that heavily and uniquely impact women — particularly gender-based violence and access to sexual and reproductive health services.

“Policies that restrict non-governmental organizations’ ability to provide lifesaving health services, such as the Mexico City policy, have been seen to reduce access to care and lead to poor outcomes for women,” Crocker said. “CARE calls for this policy’s repeal.” 

Mulumba Moses, who works for the Center for Health, Human Rights and Development testified about his experience with healthcare. Growing up in Uganda, Moses saw firsthand how hard it could be to get good access to healthcare. 

“The global gag rule demonstrates how repressive political decisions from other countries can affect population health and well-being in countries like Uganda,” Moses said. 

After their initial testimonies, the witnesses then answered questions concerning women’s health on a global scale – from gender-based violence in Venezuela to infant mortality rates in Yemen.

While many of the representatives from the Committee of Foreign Affairs could not agree on whether or not the Mexico City policy should be in place, almost all who asked questions made it clear that the issue of women’s health globally is often understated and overlooked.

There was a large audience turnout of almost entirely women, many wearing black Planned Parenthood t-shirts with the slogan, “end the global gag rule” written on the front. Planned Parenthood is currently petitioning to end the global gag rule. 

Minaal Farrukh, 21, was one of the women in attendance. She’s a student at Texas A&M University and currently works as an intern for Health and Human Services. 

“I wasn’t aware of the global gag rule and the effect it has on humanitarians and their ability to offer their services in some areas. I wrote a paper on prioritizing aid as foreign policy, so it’s interesting to learn that it’s supported but there are still so many nuances and obstacles to think about,” Farrukh said.