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What is the Mexico City Policy or Global Gag Rule?

Posted on January 23, 2009

Global Gag Rule – (Reuters) Jan 23 – U.S. President Barack Obama lifted restrictions on Friday on U.S. government funding for clinics or groups which provide abortion services or counseling for the procedure overseas. The restrictions have been dubbed the “Global Gag Rule” by critics.

Q: WHAT IS THE MEXICO CITY POLICY/GLOBAL GAG RULE?

A: Under the rule, no U.S. government funding for family planning services can be given to clinics or groups that offer abortion services or counseling in other countries even if the funds for those activities come from non-U.S. government sources.

It has been called the Mexico City Policy because it was unveiled at a U.N. conference there in 1984 and became one of the centerpiece social policies of the conservative administration of Republican former President Ronald Reagan.

Critics call it the “gag rule” because it also cuts funds to groups which advocate or lobby for the lifting of abortion restrictions, so they say it infringes on free speech.

_us_obama_abortionQ: WHAT HAPPENED IN THE PAST?

A: The policy has become a partisan “tit for tat” depending on which party occupies the White House. Support for abortion rights is a central plank of the Democratic Party while abortion rights opponents, many of whom are conservative Christians, comprise a key Republican base.

Former President Bill Clinton rescinded the rule when he took office in January 1993.

George W. Bush reinstated it on Jan 22, 2001, in one of his first policy moves as president, saying: “It is my conviction that taxpayer funds should not be used to pay for abortions or advocate or actively promote abortion, either here or abroad.”

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