Experts say Trump could help reduce global maternal deaths

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WASHINGTON DC, November 1 (C-Fam) If Donald J. Trump is elected president for a second term, he may be remembered for more than his anti-abortion stance. He may be credited with ending preventable maternal deaths by saving maternal health from controversial abortion programming. This, according to experts interviewed by the Friday Fax.

The Friday Fax spoke with former Trump administration officials about the policies of his first term and what might be expected in a second term.

Former Trump administration official Valerie Huber said the former president would likely have the United States rejoin the Geneva Consensus Declaration, a strong international women’s health statement signed by 32 countries at its launch in 2020.  In his early days as president, Joe Biden removed the U.S. from the Declaration. Despite opposition from the Biden administration 39 countries are now signatories.

Huber said, “[w]hen the U.S. rejoins the GCD, it will accelerate the growth and strength of the coalition.” Huber described how the goal of the commitment is to “implement an innovative, holistic, multigenerational, women’s health framework for all life stages.” Nations joining the coalition also pledge to defend the family as foundational to society, reaffirm that there is no international right to abortion, and protect national sovereignty and the human rights of its people.

Huber explained that “in the U.S., 8 out of every ten maternal deaths are preventable, so developing a multi-faceted domestic approach to prevent these deaths in our country as well as for women around the globe through U.S. foreign assistance should be a Trump administration top priority.”

Trump also expanded the Mexico City Policy, now known as Protecting Life in Global Health (PLGHA). According to Trump officials, the policy proved effective in weeding out organizations that prioritized abortion activities over delivering holistic healthcare needs to women and girls without significantly disrupting access to healthcare.

“PLGHA implementation during the Trump Administration resulted in minimal disruption in healthcare delivery.  The vast majority of awardee organizations agreed to comply,” Jennie Lichter told the Friday Fax. Lichter supervised policy efforts across the federal government in the Trump administration as Deputy Director for the White House Domestic Policy Council and is now the president-elect for March for Life. 

Trump’s first term policies demonstrated that it is possible for the U.S. to “remain firmly committed to the dual priorities of protecting human life both before and after birth, and improving health – including women’s health,” Lichter said.

Trump’s policies contradicted the prevailing narrative of UN agencies and powerful Western governments that abortion is necessary to improve maternal health.

“None of this is based on real data,” OB/GYN physician Catherine Wheeler told the Friday Fax. “Part of the false narrative is around poorly designed studies that estimate abortion numbers, deaths and complications, based on assumptions from faulty incomplete data collected by Guttmacher’s abortion surveys (not accurate data collection), and statistical models with correction factors.”

Dr. Wheeler, a board member for American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) and President of its Colorado chapter, said the response to maternal mortality should be the same policies that the United States and other western countries employed to improve maternal health—sanitized medical facilities, emergency obstetric care, including antibiotics and blood transfusions, as well as trained medical personnel.

Wheeler challenged claims that abortion is necessary to lower maternal deaths. “If abortion decreases maternal mortality, why doesn’t the U.S. have a very low maternal mortality?” She also pointed to studies that show increased mortality after abortion.

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