Trump Ends All Foreign Abortion/Gender Spending

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WASHINGTON, D.C., January 30 (C-Fam) The Trump administration issued new massive restrictions on U.S. foreign assistance that will end all direct and indirect funding of abortion, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and gender ideology overseas.

Vice President J.D. Vance unveiled the “historic expansion” of the Mexico City Policy last Friday at the March for Life in Washington, D.C. The sweeping new rules close funding loopholes in previous versions of the policy and triple the amount of foreign aid affected by the restrictions. And the expansion now includes new, extensive funding restrictions related to gender ideology and DEI.

Vance said the Trump administration is returning accountability to U.S. foreign policy. He described how under the Biden administration, U.S. policy was to “export abortion and radical gender ideology all around the world” and to “relentlessly bully developing countries into parading their far-left views.”

“It is not our job to promote radical gender ideology,” he said, “it’s our job to promote families and human flourishing.” Vance told marchers the Trump administration “believe[s] every country in the world has the duty to protect life.”

The new restrictions will cover all non-military foreign assistance, about $30 billion overall, including $14 billion for humanitarian activities. During President Trump’s first term, the Mexico City policy was extended to all global health, barring some $10 billion from foreign organizations involved in abortion. Despite this expansion, U.S. funds continued to flow to abortion organizations due to the carve-out for humanitarian programs, U.S.-registered organizations, foreign governments, and multilateral organizations like the United Nations.

The new rules issued on Wednesday by the U.S. State Department close all funding loopholes through three separate directives addressing abortion, gender ideology, and DEI, respectively. They will be referred to collectively as the Promoting Human Flourishing in Foreign Assistance (PHFFA) Policy. The new policies are comprehensive in nature, cite federal and state law, Supreme Court opinions, and executive orders as the basis of their legality, and are expected to withstand legal and Congressional challenges.

The rule on gender ideology, titled “Combating Gender Ideology in Foreign Assistance,” bans for children and adults “sex-rejecting procedures or sex-rejecting social transition,” including any resources or counseling that advises this as a treatment for gender dysphoria. It prohibits all promotion of gender ideology, including through lobbying, education, public campaigns, drag queen shows, or any other means.

The new policy on DEI prohibits treating individuals “as members of preferred or disfavored groups, rather than as individuals” based on agency, merit, and capability.

All U.S. organizations, many of which administer hundreds of millions of dollars of foreign aid and were previously exempt from presidential pro-life restrictions, are now required to pledge that abortion, DEI, and gender ideology will be purged from any overseas program or activity, including for non-U.S. funds. The new rules do not apply to existing grants, though 87% of Biden-era grants overseen by the shuttered U.S. Agency for International Development were cancelled last year.

The new rules also cover bilateral aid for the first time. The Trump administration recently pivoted away from relying mainly on non-governmental organizations to deliver U.S. aid and programs, as in the past, and now instead contracts directly with foreign governments. Foreign governments will be required to pass down these restrictions to all funding recipients. The only workaround would be the physical separation of funds.

Likewise, multilateral organizations must adhere to the new rules when it comes to voluntary funding. In 2024, U.S. voluntary funding to the UN was roughly $13 billion. Now, to receive those funds, UN agencies must halt all programs promoting abortion, DEI, and gender ideology. Several UN agencies, including the UN Children’s Fund, were recently scrutinized for programs promoting gender fluidity and sexual autonomy for children.

The new policy will go into effect in thirty days, barring any legal challenges. The rules will be subject to the Congressional Review Act, like all regulations.

 

 

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