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Global HER Act Filed in House and Senate

Washington, DC – This week in the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Lois Frankel (FL-22), Ranking Member of the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs (NSRP) Appropriations Subcommittee, Reps. Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Ami Bera (CA-06), Grace Meng (NY-06), and Norma Torres (CA-35) introduced the Global Health, Empowerment, and Rights (HER) Act. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) have introduced the bill in the Senate.

The bill would permanently repeal the harmful "Global Gag Rule," also known as the "Mexico City Policy." Although federal funds are already prohibited from being used for abortion services, the Global Gag Rule takes it a step further by blocking U.S. global health funding to international organizations that use their own resources to provide abortion services, or even to share information or offer referrals for such services. Last week, President Trump reinstated this policy through an executive order.

Specifically, the Global HER Act would:

  • Ensure that eligible foreign NGOs operating U.S.-supported health programs abroad can use their own, non-U.S. funds to provide legal health services;
  • Guarantee that foreign NGOs will not be forced to sacrifice their right to free speech to participate in U.S.-supported programs abroad; and
  • Help expand access to health programs around the world so that we continue to make progress on raising health and development outcomes for entire families, communities, and developing countries. 

“No woman should be denied the ability to make her own health care choices, no matter where she lives. At a time when women around the world are facing unprecedented threats to their safety and well-being—including conflict-related sexual violence —the Global Gag Rule is a cruel and dangerous step backward,” said Rep. Frankel. “The policy also severely hinders other global health initiatives, like programs that expand access to contraception, prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, combat malaria, and improve maternal and child health. The Global HER Act would permanently repeal the devastating Global Gag Rule, marking a step toward healthier, more prosperous communities around the world.”

“For over four decades, the Global Gag Rule has prioritized harmful politics and regressive ideology over the health and lives of women, girls, and families worldwide,” said Nabeeha Kazi Hutchins, President and CEO of PAI, a global women’s health organization. “We are grateful to Representatives Frankel, Schakowsky, Bera, Meng, Torres, and others for introducing the Global HER Act and putting the will of the American people, the guidance of global health and scientific communities, and the advancement of women and youth around the world over harmful policies enacted in D.C.” 

“Elected officials have no business interfering in personal health care decisions at home or abroad — yet anti-abortion lawmakers continue to push their politically-motivated, unpopular agenda,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO, Planned Parenthood Action Fund. “Donald Trump has now reinstated the global gag rule, a dangerous policy that disrupts essential health care and rolls back hard-fought advancements in access to health care and human rights worldwide. It is long past time that we reverse and permanently end the global gag rule. We are grateful to Reps. Frankel, Schakowsky, Bera, Meng, and Torres for re-introducing the critical Global HER Act and for their continued leadership in defending reproductive freedom globally. Lawmakers must stop playing politics with countless people’s health and lives, and work to make health care accessible for all.”

The Global Gag Rule has a long and damaging history. Initially imposed in 1984, it has been rescinded and reinstated along partisan lines ever since. President Trump first reinstated the policy in 2017 during his first term, only for President Biden to rescind it in 2021. Research has found that abortion is more prevalent and maternal and child mortality increases when the policy is in place. Its reinstatement now is a stark reminder of the ongoing fight for women’s rights and access to health care worldwide. 

Recent polling shows that 70% of Americans support ending the Global Gag Rule, which endangers the wellbeing of people worldwide. 218 million women in low-and middle-income countries already face barriers to family planning resources, and this policy worsens those challenges.

The Members introduced the bill with 115 original co-sponsors along with endorsements from Planned Parenthood Federation of America, PAI, Guttmacher, Population Connection, Amnesty International USA, Ipas, Women's Refugee Commission, Reproductive Freedom for All, American Jewish World Service, Population Institute, Center for Reproductive Rights, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Full text of the bill can be found here

 

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