The Case for Ending the “Global Gag Rule” and the Helms Amendment | Guttmacher Institute
On January 28, 2021, President Biden rescinded the "global gag rule." While that was an important move, it was just the first step in restor
The global gag rule prevents foreign nongovernmental organizations from using their own, non-U.S. funds to provide abortion services, information, counseling, referrals or advocacy. Since it was first created in 1984, the policy has historically been put in place by Republican presidents and rescinded by Democratic ones. The Trump administration put the global gag rule on steroids, massively expanding it multiple times and making additional attempts to do so even as it was leaving office.
Although President Biden has rescinded the global gag rule, that is only a short-term solution to the long-term problem of this devastating policy. The new administration and Congress have a unique opportunity to end the global gag rule permanently by supporting and passing the Global Health, Empowerment and Rights (Global HER) Act, which was reintroduced in the House and Senate on the same day as President’s Biden executive action. The bill would prevent future presidents from unilaterally reinstating the global gag rule via executive action and end the policy’s intermittent use. With 177 cosponsors in the House of Representatives and 46 in the Senate just two weeks after reintroduction, passing the Global HER Act is politically feasible, if leadership makes it a priority. Enacting the bill would end U.S. interference in what organizations do with their own money, but would not address restrictions on whether U.S. money can be used to fund global abortion services.
