4 Pro-Life Accomplishments During Trump's First 100 Days
2. Mexico City Policy
One of the first actions taken by Trump at the start of his presidency was the issuance of an executive memorandum that reinstated a ban on taxpayer money being used by organizations abroad to perform or endorse abortions.
The policy, which was first enacted by Republican President Ronald Reagan in 1984, was rescinded at the beginning of Democrat Bill Clinton's presidency and later reinstated by Republican President George W. Bush. However, the policy, also known as a "Global Gag Rule," was again rescinded when President Barack Obama took office in 2009.
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On one of the first days of Trump's presidency, he re-enacted an expanded version of the Mexico City Policy that includes a ban on all global health funding, including funds that go to organizations that work with victims of AIDS, malaria, and other health crises in third-world countries if they provide or promote abortion.
"The Mexico City Policy does not reduce foreign assistance, rather it ensures that U.S. international aid partners act consistently to save lives, rather than promoting and performing abortion," the SBA List states. "This swift action continues Ronald Reagan's legacy by stopping the promotion of abortion through our tax dollars overseas."
"His action to promote respect for all human life, including vulnerable unborn children abroad, as well as conscience rights, sent a strong signal early on about his Administration's pro-life priorities," it continued. "Not only did President Trump reinstate the Mexico City Policy, he modernized it by applying it to all foreign health assistance programs."
Some have been critical of the fact that Trump's policy extends to programs like the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which was exempted from the policy under Bush "because it was widely understood that the program couldn't meet its prevention and treatment targets otherwise."
