Last week marked one year of Trump’s second administration. In just one year, we saw a barrage of executive orders, the appointment of unqualified Cabinet members, restructuring and elimination of federal agencies, mass firings of federal employees, attacks on universities and women’s studies programs to eliminate diversity programs, and more.
According to the National Partnership for Women and Families, Trump’s second administration has taken 53 actions that specifically targeted women and families. These ranged from impacts on women in the workplace, such as threatening the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, revoking policies governing sexual harassment, stripping protections for domestic workers, and other laws and policies that supported women and women of color in particular. Some of the policies even have life-threatening impacts on women’s health, by gutting Medicaid, allowing the Affordable Care Act tax credits to expire, and freezing funding for the Title X Family Planning Program.
It’s not just women in the U.S. who are being impacted: the dismantling of USAID funding last year, and most recently, Trump’s radically expanded global gag rule, announced Friday, threaten the lives and well-being of women worldwide. The global gag rule has historically prevented NGOs around the world from advocating for or providing abortions if they are receiving U.S. funds. Trump reinstated the rule as one of his first actions in office. However, he recently expanded the gag rule to take it even further.
Read Next: Americans Are Facing an Increased Risk of Digital Financial Frauds
A Draconian Expansion Of The Global Gag Rule
Under the latest expansion, recipients of US foreign aid have to comply with the new restrictions, with profound consequences for global health and human rights. The expanded Global Gag Rule is an ultra-conservative, anti-rights agenda targeting women, minorities, and marginalized communities.
The expanded Global Gag Rule (also known as the Mexico City Policy) is draconian in both scope and intent. It not only targets abortion care and access but also undermines DEI initiatives and LGBTQ+ rights. It also extends across all forms of U.S. foreign assistance, including humanitarian aid, bilateral cooperation, support for US NGOs, and funding for multilateral institutions. In practice, any government or organisation seeking U.S. funding to meet the growing health or humanitarian needs is now expected to comply with Trump’s ultra-conservative ideology, rather than the needs and rights of the communities they serve.
Further, the State Department announced its immediate intention to rejoin the so-called “Geneva Consensus Declaration,” which claims that there is no international right to abortion. Originally championed by the previous Trump Administration, it intentionally misrepresents itself as an official international agreement and attempts to undermine the broad legal basis for reproductive rights as human rights.
Read Next: The Oil Industry and Wall Street Are the Real Winners of the Venezuela Strike
How “America First” Narrative Threatens Lives and Reverses Progress
The fear is that the expansion of the Global Gag Rule will be closely tied to the recently launched “America First Global Health Strategy”. Presented at the end of September 2025, this strategy serves as a vehicle for advancing US political and ideological interests around the world under the guise of health policy and financing.
For example, the dismantling of the USAID caused widespread harm. According to some estimates, more than 45 million women and girls have lost access to contraceptive care, and clinics around the world have been forced to close.
The expansion of the global gag order risks worsening the global unsafe abortion crisis and driving maternal mortality rates even higher. In West and Central Africa alone, every nine seconds, a woman puts her life at risk with an unsafe abortion. Millions of women and girls facing an unintended pregnancy have no option but unsafe procedures, often with severe complications or resulting in death.
New research has revealed the overwhelming barriers women and girls in Africa face when seeking care, support, and justice. Many African governments are committed to improving policies and removing procedural barriers to safe care. But political will is not enough, because these improvements require sustained funding and support. Without reliable resources, even governments that are genuinely committed to reform struggle to make their intentions a reality.
Read Next: Mitt Romney Wants Rich People to Pay More Tax, Including Him