Shortly after his inauguration, President Donald Trump reinstated and expanded the Global Gag Rule. A policy instituted for the first time under former President Ronald Reagan in 1984—and rescinded most recently by former President Barack Obama in 2009—the Global Gag Rule prohibits U.S.-funded foreign nongovernmental organizations from participating in abortion-related speech and activities. These organizations cannot even use private, non-U.S. funds to support abortion care.
President Trump’s Global Gag Rule affects global health programs that address health concerns such as HIV and AIDS, maternal and child health, tuberculosis, malaria, Zika virus, family planning, reproductive health, and others. When in effect, the rule has been proven to be a disastrous policy that has caused millions of women to go without access to vital health services including maternal health care, family planning, and safe abortion.
On this International Women’s Day, a panel of experts will discuss the impact of President Trump’s Global Gag Rule roughly one year after its implementation. The panel will talk about how health care providers are responding to the rule, how women’s rights and development aid groups are mobilizing against it, and where we go from here.
Opening remarks:
Jennifer Palmieri, Executive Vice President, Communications and Advocacy
Keynote remarks:
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, (D-NH)
Distinguished panelists:
Suzanne Ehlers, President and CEO, PAI
Anu Kumar, Interim CEO, Ipas
Lisa Schechtman, Director of Policy and Advocacy, WaterAid America
Emma Nilsson, Counselor for Development, Embassy of Sweden
Moderator:
Jamila Taylor, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress