President Trump signed a memorandum Friday restoring the pro-life Mexico City Policy as part of a flurry of action the White House said was designed to ensure U.S. taxpayer dollars never fund abortion.
A White House statement said Trump had signed a memorandum “reinstating the Mexico City Policy to stop the use of federal taxpayer dollars for abortion overseas.” The statement was released the same day Trump spoke to the national March for Life in a virtual address.
The Mexico City Policy (Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy) dates back to the administration of Ronald Reagan and has been implemented by every Republican president since, including George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. Democrat administrations have rescinded it. The policy requires nongovernmental organizations to agree, as a condition for receiving U.S. funding, not to perform or actively promote abortion.
Former President Joe Biden rescinded the policy in January 2021, saying it was part of his goal to “support women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights in the United States, as well as globally.”
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Trump’s memo, though widely anticipated by the pro-life community, was nonetheless met with enthusiasm. Also on Friday, the White House said Trump had signed an executive order enforcing the Hyde Amendment, a legislative provision that prohibits the use of federal funds for abortion, such as in Medicaid.
Pro-life organizations praised the move.
“Ensuring that taxpayer dollars don’t pay for abortions has saved lives, and it’s a policy that continues to receive bipartisan support from a majority of Americans,” said Erin Hawley, senior counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom. “Government-compelled participation in abortion has no place in our country. American taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to fund abortions or to export and promote them abroad. We’re pleased to see the Trump administration take these crucial steps to redirect American taxpayer dollars to programs that offer real health care for women and children instead of the scandal-ridden abortion industry.”
SBA Pro-Life America President Majorie Dannenfelser thanked the president.
“With this action the president is getting American taxpayers out of the abortion business and restoring sanity to the federal government," she said. "This is a big win for babies and mothers, and it reflects the will of the majority of Americans who strongly oppose bankrolling the abortion industry at home and abroad. On behalf of pro-life Americans and the moms and babies that will be saved from the tragedy of abortion, thank you, President Trump.”
Scott Fischbach, Executive Director of National Right to Life, said, “The Protecting Life Globally policy (Mexico City Policy) and the Hyde Amendment are critical tools in ensuring that taxpayer dollars are never used to fund the destruction of innocent human life. President Trump’s leadership is a bold step forward in restoring America’s role as a global defender of the unborn.”
The White House said Trump’s memorandum enforcing the Hyde Amendment had overturned a pair of Biden executive orders.
Executive Order 14076 by Biden had “imposed a whole-of-government effort to promote and fund abortion and to politicize enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act,” the White House said.
Executive Order 14079 by Biden had “recategorized abortion as ‘healthcare’ in order to provide taxpayer funding for elective abortions.” That included “using Medicaid funding to pay for travel costs for elective abortions,” a White House statement said.
The Trump memo “recognizes that, for nearly five decades, Congress has enacted the Hyde Amendment and a series of additional laws to protect taxpayers from being forced to pay for abortion,” the White House said.
“Contrary to this longstanding commonsense policy, the previous administration embedded federal funding of elective abortion in a wide variety of government programs,” the statement said.
The text of the Trump executive order says, in part: “It is the policy of the United States, consistent with the Hyde Amendment, to end the forced use of Federal taxpayer dollars to fund or promote elective abortion.”
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The Mexico City Policy is so named after the city where Reagan introduced it. He announced the policy in 1984 during the United Nations International Conference on Population held in Mexico City, establishing it as a guideline for U.S. foreign aid regarding abortion-related activities.
One year earlier, Reagan released his pro-life book, Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation. The policy was in effect until President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, reversed it in January 1993. After it was reinstated by President George W. Bush, President Barack Obama again rescinded it.
Trump, during his speech to March for Life attendees, said his administration remains committed to the issue of life.
“In my second term, we will again stand proudly for families and for life,” he said.
