--- title: Mexico City Policy: New restrictions on U.S. Aid to NGOs description: Mike Pompeo announced new rules for the so-called "global gag rule," which bans funding to NGOs who provide abortion services or information canonical: https://time.com/5559366/mike-pompeo-abortion-global-gag-rule/ author: Amy Gunia article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-03-27T04:55:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-13T08:26:27.801Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Administration Broadens Scope of 'Global Gag Rule' og:description: The law limits funding to overseas organizations linked to abortion services og:url: https://time.com/5559366/mike-pompeo-abortion-global-gag-rule/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt446cc111fe5049fd/69894759b21a9c6a8e50054d/mike-pompeo-mexico-policy.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4380 og:image:height: 2464 og:image:alt: mike-pompeo-mexico-policy og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Administration Broadens Scope of 'Global Gag Rule' twitter:description: The law limits funding to overseas organizations linked to abortion services twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt446cc111fe5049fd/69894759b21a9c6a8e50054d/mike-pompeo-mexico-policy.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Trump Administration Is Broadening the Scope of the Anti-Abortion 'Global Gag Rule' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=d37e5aa4-3b8f-4916-a125-e6fae3786e26&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: The Trump Administration Is Broadening the Scope of the Anti-Abortion 'Global Gag Rule' [Watch (HLS stream): The Trump Administration Is Broadening the Scope of the Anti-Abortion 'Global Gag Rule'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jekfrpwE.m3u8) (1:14)  _Published 2019-03-27. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the expansion of restrictions for foreign aid to organizations that provide abortion-related services or advocacy on Wednesday._ by [Amy Gunia](https://time.com/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. Mar 27, 2019 4:55 AM UTC U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the expansion of restrictions for foreign aid to organizations that provide abortion-related services or advocacy on Wednesday. by [Amy Gunia](https://time.com/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. Mar 27, 2019 4:55 AM UTC U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the expansion of [restrictions](https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/26/trump-pompeo-abortion-policy-1236397) for foreign aid to organizations that provide abortion-related services or advocacy on Wednesday. “We will refuse to provide assistance to foreign NGOs that give financial support to other foreign groups in the global abortion industry,” Pompeo said at a [press conference](https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2019/03/290669.htm) in Washington D.C. The new restrictions strengthen the so-called “Mexico City Policy,” also known as the “Global Gag Rule.” The provision prohibits U.S. aid to overseas NGOs which offer any services related to abortion even if those services are not paid for with U.S. funds, including referrals or counseling, by closing loopholes organizations could use to circumvent the policy’s original restrictions. Pompeo also announced that the U.S. will explicitly ban the Organization of American States (OAS) from carrying out abortion-related lobbying, citing evidence that an unnamed OAS entity had done just that. He said that U.S. aid to OAS would be reduced by the estimated amount of the costs of abortion-related activities. **Read More:** [_The Impact of President Trump’s ‘Global Gag Rule’ on Women’s Health is Becoming Clear_](http://time.com/5115887/donald-trump-global-gag-rule-women/) “The institutions of the OAS should be focused on addressing crises in Cuba, Nicaragua, and in Venezuela, not on advancing the pro-abortion cause,” Pompeo said. Some opponents criticized the move. “Further expanding the global gag rule puts international organizations in an impossible position: provide women the full scope of reproductive health care services or deny critical funding that saves lives,” said New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen, according to Politico. “That is unconscionable,” she added. **Read More:**[_Trump Made False Claims About ‘Late-Term Abortion.’ Here Are the Facts_](http://time.com/5527577/donald-trump-late-term-abortion-facts/) The [Mexico City Policy,](http://time.com/4644042/mexico-city-policy-abortion-womens-health/) which was initially implemented by Ronald Reagan in 1984, has been repealed and reenacted multiple times by various administrations over the years. Trump [reinstated the law](http://time.com/4780113/trump-abortion-gag-rule-mexico-city/) by executive order in January 2017, just two days after his inauguration. The policy’s reestablishment has had wide reaching impact on overseas organizations like [U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA)](http://time.com/4724227/unfpa-funding-trump-mexico-city-policy-abortion/) who rely on U.S. aid. In [2016](https://www.unfpa.org/data/donor-contributions/united-states-america) the U.S. contributed $65 million to UNFPA, who provide reproductive healthcare for women and youth in more than 150 countries. The U.S. grants approximately $9 billion in foreign aid on global health programs annually. It is the world’s biggest donor of health-related aid. ## Transcript [00:00] As before. We'll continue to refuse to provide [00:02] assistance to foreign NGOs who perform or actively [00:06] promote abortion as a method of family planning. Now [00:11] as a result of my decision today, we're also making [00:14] clear we will refuse to provide assistance to foreign [00:17] NGOs to give financial support to other Foreign groups [00:21] in the global abortion industry. We will enforce a strict [00:25] prohibition and back door funding schemes and add [00:29] runs around our policy. American [ UNKNOWN ] dollars [00:33] will not be use to underwrite abortions. The institutions [00:37] of the OAS should be focus on addressing crisis in [00:40] Cuba, Nicaragua and in Venezuela. Not advancing the [00:44] pro abortion cause. And to ensure that our message is [00:47] heard loud and clear, we will reduce our contributions [00:50] to the OAS. Our reduction equals the estimated [00:54] US share of possible OAS expenditures on these [00:57] abortion related activities. The American people [01:01] should rest assured That this administration and this [01:03] state department and our USAID will do everything we [01:07] can to safeguard US tax payer dollars and protect and [01:10] respect the sanctity of life for people all around the [01:13] globe. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5559366/mike-pompeo-abortion-global-gag-rule/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5559366/mike-pompeo-abortion-global-gag-rule/"},"headline":"The Trump Administration Is Broadening the Scope of the Anti-Abortion 'Global Gag Rule'","datePublished":"2019-03-27T04:55:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-13T08:26:27.801Z","description":"The law limits funding to overseas organizations linked to abortion services","url":"https://time.com/5559366/mike-pompeo-abortion-global-gag-rule/","keywords":["health","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt446cc111fe5049fd/69894759b21a9c6a8e50054d/mike-pompeo-mexico-policy.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Amy Gunia","jobTitle":"Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong.","url":"https://time.com/author/amy-gunia/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt446cc111fe5049fd/69894759b21a9c6a8e50054d/mike-pompeo-mexico-policy.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"mike-pompeo-mexico-policy","caption":"Mike Pompeo Mexico Policy","creditText":"Sait Serkan Gurbuz—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/health/","name":"health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5559366/mike-pompeo-abortion-global-gag-rule/","name":"The Trump Administration Is Broadening the Scope of the Anti-Abortion 'Global Gag Rule'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Trump Administration Is Broadening the Scope of the Anti-Abortion 'Global Gag Rule'","description":"U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the expansion of restrictions for foreign aid to organizations that provide abortion-related services or advocacy on Wednesday.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/jekfrpwE/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2019-03-27T02:26:41.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jekfrpwE.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5559366/mike-pompeo-abortion-global-gag-rule/","duration":"PT1M14S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5559366/mike-pompeo-abortion-global-gag-rule/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```