Sarah Toce
U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) joined Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and other colleagues in reintroducing their Global Health, Empowerment and Rights (HER) Act.
The bipartisan legislation aims to permanently repeal the harmful Global Gag Rule or “Mexico City Policy,” which bans U.S. federal funding for foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that use their own, non-U.S. funds to provide abortion services or information about abortion.
Recently, the Trump administration reinstated its expanded Global Gag Rule, after the Biden administration had rescinded the policy in 2021.
The Global Gag Rule forces clinics to choose between providing limited reproductive health services while accepting U.S. foreign aid, or providing inclusive family planning and reproductive health care while forgoing U.S. aid. It means organizations that receive U.S. international aid for other reasons—such as HIV prevention, maternal health, or fighting diseases like malaria—cannot educate their communities on pregnancy options, including safe abortion care, or their funding will be pulled.
In addition to reinstating the harmful Global Gag Rule, Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office to freeze all U.S. foreign assistance for 90 days. Notably, in response to widespread public backlash, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on January 28 a waiver for “life-saving humanitarian assistance”—but the waiver explicitly excludes lifesaving family planning programs.
If these programs remain shut down for the full 90-day review period, 11.7 million women and girls will be denied birth control, resulting in 4.2 million unintended pregnancies, and 8,340 will die from complications during pregnancy and childbirth.
Additionally, the Trump administration and billionaire Elon Musk are now illegally attempting to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which provides critical humanitarian aid overseas that supports U.S. national security interests.
“When we invest in a safer and healthier world, that pays dividends for America. Make no mistake: the Global Gag Rule prevents NGOs from using their own resources to provide lifesaving reproductive health services, and it forces organizations to make impossible choices that restrict access to care for some of the most desperate people across the globe—that’s why I’m glad to once again join my colleagues in introducing legislation to repeal this dangerous policy,” said Sen. Murray.
“It is unsurprising, but extremely telling, that some of the very first moves of Donald Trump’s second administration prioritize attacking reproductive health care and targeting vulnerable women and girls around the world,” Murray added.
“The Trump administration is stripping U.S. funding from international aid groups that even just discuss abortion with their patients. Congress must permanently repeal the global gag rule – these organizations provide essential health care and save lives,” said Sen. Cantwell.
Senators Murray and Cantwell have long supported the Global HER Act and pushed to repeal the Global Gag Rule, including speaking out forcefully against the expanded Global Gag Rule Donald Trump issued at the beginning of his first administration.
Among other things, the Global HER Act:
- Ensures that eligible foreign NGOs can continue to operate U.S.-supported health programs abroad, particularly those that provide legal health services to women – including counseling, referral and legal abortion services – with their own, non-U.S. funds;
- Guarantees that foreign NGOs will not be forced to sacrifice their right to free speech in order to participate in U.S.-supported programs abroad; and
- Expands access to health programs for women around the world to improve health and development outcomes for entire families, communities and developing countries.
Full text of the Global HER Act is available here.
In addition to Sens. Murray, Cantwell, Shaheen, and Murkowski, the Global HER Act is also cosponsored by Sens. Merkley (D-OR), Warnock (D-GA), Durbin (D-IL), Cortez Masto (D-NV), Welch (D-VT), Murphy (D-CT), Reed (D-RI), Blumenthal (D-CT), Hirono (D-HI), Bennet (D-CO), Whitehouse (D-RI), Kaine (D-VA), Rosen (D-NV), Schatz (D-HI), Hickenlooper (D-CO), King (I-ME), Padilla (D-CA), Klobuchar (D-MN), Booker (D-NJ), Baldwin (D-WI), Coons (D-DE), Ossoff (D-GA), Sanders (I-VT), Warren (D-MA), Slotkin (D-MI), Duckworth (D-IL), Wyden (D-OR), Smith (D-MN), Kelly (D-AZ), Markey (D-MA), Lujan (D-NM), Alsobrooks (D-MD), Warner (D-VA), Hassan (D-NH), Gillibrand (D-NY), Van Hollen (D-MD), Schiff (D-CA), Schumer (D-NY) and Gallego (D-AZ).
A companion version is being led in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Lois Frankel (D, FL-22).
The Global HER Act is endorsed by 58 organizations representing global health, women’s reproductive rights, women’s equality, civil rights, and other relevant advocacy constituencies.
