Three years of the Global Gag Rule
On his very first day in office, President Trump dramatically expanded the Global Gag Rule — leaving MSI with a funding gap of $120 million over four years. The consequences have been dire for the world’s most vulnerable women and girls.
MSI refused to comply with the Gag Rule’s dangerous anti-abortion and anti-women requirements. As we face the final year of Trump’s first term, MSI’s Gag Rule funding gap has made it harder for us to deliver contraception and reproductive healthcare to poor and marginalized communities.
Because of the Global Gag Rule, MSI’s ability to grow our programs to reach even more women and adolescent girls was hampered. In fact, our Gag Rule funding gap contributed to an estimated 5.2 million women being denied access to MSI’s services during Trump’s first term. This led to a projected:
- 6.8 million additional unintended pregnancies
- 3.4 million additional unsafe abortions
- 16,000 additional pregnancy-related deaths
In Zimbabwe, the Global Gag Rule forced 600 of our 1,200 outreach sites in hard-to-reach communities to close, leaving women and adolescent girls like Irene Mudyavanhu with nowhere to turn.
In 2017 — the year Trump signed the Gag Rule — Irene walked nearly two hours to reach an MSI outreach clinic to receive a contraceptive implant. She wanted to focus on growing her family’s farming business and raising her kids, without worrying about an unintended pregnancy. But because of the Gag Rule, too many outreach sites like the one Irene visited were closed.
“I think it would be cruel if the services were no longer available,” she told us. “There is no other place where we can access [contraception]. I don’t want to end up having too many children that I can’t afford to take care of.”
Trump’s Global Gag Rule has slashed funding for contraception, increased stigma around abortion care and endangered women and girls. But it’s also sparked a powerful movement of advocates fighting for women’s choice.
We’re more committed than ever to making sure every woman and girl can control her own body, life and future — and with you by our side, we’ll continue to be there for the clients who need us.
