Associated Press
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday March 26, expanded the Trump administration's ban on U.S. aid to groups that promote or provide abortions to include organizations that comply with the rules but give money to others that don't.
Pompeo also said the U.S. would cut some assistance to the Organization of America States because at least two of its agencies are allegedly lobbying for abortion availability in the Western Hemisphere.
Pompeo said the administration was committed to protecting "the sanctity of life" in the United States and abroad and would enforce the policy "to the broadest extent possible" by not allowing foreign non-governmental organizations to skirt the ban.
"We will refuse to provide assistance to foreign NGOs that give financial support to other foreign groups in the global abortion industry," Pompeo told reporters at the State Department. "We will enforce a strict prohibition on backdoor funding schemes and end runs around our policy. American taxpayer dollars will not be used to underwrite abortions."
The move is an expansion of the so-called "Mexico City policy" first established under President Ronald Reagan but rescinded by subsequent Democratic administrations. Just days after taking office in 2017, President Donald Trump reinstated the policy and then expanded it to include all health programs not just reproductive health ones.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday March 26, expanded the Trump administration's ban on U.S. aid to groups that promote or provide abortions to include organizations that comply with the rules but give money to others that don't.
Pompeo also said the U.S. would cut some assistance to the Organization of America States because at least two of its agencies are allegedly lobbying for abortion availability in the Western Hemisphere.
Pompeo said the administration was committed to protecting "the sanctity of life" in the United States and abroad and would enforce the policy "to the broadest extent possible" by not allowing foreign non-governmental organizations to skirt the ban.
"We will refuse to provide assistance to foreign NGOs that give financial support to other foreign groups in the global abortion industry," Pompeo told reporters at the State Department. "We will enforce a strict prohibition on backdoor funding schemes and end runs around our policy. American taxpayer dollars will not be used to underwrite abortions."
The move is an expansion of the so-called "Mexico City policy" first established under President Ronald Reagan but rescinded by subsequent Democratic administrations. Just days after taking office in 2017, President Donald Trump reinstated the policy and then expanded it to include all health programs not just reproductive health ones.
