Trump signs pair of executive orders which would limit federal funding for abortions

US President Donald Trump stirred major controversy on Friday after he signed a pair of executive orders which would limit the US federal government’s funding for abortions. With the Friday orders, Trump attempted to reverse some of his predecessor former US President Joe Biden’s efforts to increase access to the procedure nationwide.

In one of the orders, Trump made it compulsory for foreign non-governmental organisations to certify that they do not use any funding sources to help them pay to perform, counsel or provide information on abortions abroad as a stipulation for receiving US funding.

It is pertinent to note that the policy, which is considered the “global gag rule” by several reproductive rights groups, was first introduced during the Reagan administration. Over the years it has been rescinded by every Democratic president and reinstated by every Republican president since then.

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During his first stint in the White House, Trump restored the Reagan-era policy four days after entering. Biden eventually rescinded it again a week into his own. The former president renamed the policy “Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance” and amended it to apply to most US bilateral global health assistance.

The impact

Trump’s expansion and removal of the policy would impact several global assistance programs operating in the country, including the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), as well as some tuberculosis and malaria prevention programs and maternal and child health programs.

Abortion rights and reproductive health activists are now fearing that the Republican president might swiftly reinstate a revamped version of the policy. They referred to the controversial “Project 2025” to predict what the future policy would look like. The controversial conservative policy roadmap demanded that the Mexico City Policy encompass almost all US foreign assistance, including humanitarian aid.

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On Friday, Trump signed another executive order to enforce the Hyde Amendment. The legislation banned the use of US federal dollars on abortions since 1977. Trump’s order rescinds a pair of Biden administration actions intended to expand access to abortion services after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, The Hill reported.

Trump lends support for March for Life

Interestingly, Trump signed both orders on the same day anti-abortion activists were conducting their annual “March for Life”. While the activists were gathered at the National Mall, Trump addressed the rally virtually. Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance addressed the gathering in person.

“With this action, the president is getting American taxpayers out of the abortion business and restoring sanity to the federal government,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, said in a statement. “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," she added.

In the past, Trump has attempted to portray himself as a moderate on the issue. During the 2024 presidential campaign, the Republican firebrand often argued that abortion laws should be left to the states and criticised some measures as too harsh. However, he frequently took credit for appointing three conservative judges to the US Supreme Court who ultimately overturned Roe v. Wade.

With inputs from agencies.