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The Foreseeable Harms of Trump's Global Gag Rule
Author(s) -
Bingenheimer Jeffrey B.,
Skuster Patty
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
studies in family planning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.529
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1728-4465
pISSN - 0039-3665
DOI - 10.1111/sifp.12030
Subject(s) - abortion , executive order , rule of law , political science , global health , liberalization , family planning , order (exchange) , law , law and economics , health care , population , sociology , economics , politics , research methodology , demography , pregnancy , genetics , finance , biology
As one of his first acts as President of the United States, Donald Trump signed an executive order reinstating a version of the global gag rule. Under this rule, US grantees are barred from receiving global health funding if they engage in abortion‐related work: not only abortion services, but also abortion referrals and counseling or advocacy for the liberalization of abortion laws. Critics of the Trump global gag rule generally raise three classes of objections: (1) that the rule fails to accomplish its presumed objective of reducing the number of abortions; (2) that it negatively affects the health and well‐being of individuals and populations in affected countries; and (3) that it interferes with governments’ ability to meet their international obligations. In this commentary, we examine the scientific and policy bases for these criticisms.