Reducing the harm of U.S. foreign policies

The U.S. government has a major role to play in the protection of human rights and reproductive justice. But two harmful U.S. foreign policies—combined with a growing global anti-rights movement—deny access to abortion care for millions of people.

Together, these two colonialist and ideologically driven U.S. foreign policies make it harder for people—particularly Black and brown women in low- to middle-income countries—to access abortion even when it’s legal where they live. An anti-abortion agenda drives these policies, which are designed to disrupt and coerce other countries’ health systems and civil societies into restricting the health and rights of people around the world.

Ipas has never received any funding from the U.S. government—and we never will. But we work with many local partners who do. We stand in solidarity with them, and work to reduce the harmful impact of these U.S. policies on all who are affected.

The Global Gag Rule

The Global Gag Rule is a U.S. policy that restricts foreign nongovernmental organizations that receive U.S. global health funds from engaging in abortion-related work—even if they are using their own funds. They are “gagged” from providing not only abortion services, but abortion counseling, referrals, medical advice, training and lobbying for the liberalization of abortion laws. This policy was reinstated by the first Trump Administration and expanded in scope, directing U.S. government agencies to apply an unprecedented global anti-abortion policy that violates human rights, bodily autonomy and democracy worldwide.

“The Global Gag Rule harms women because it goes against the realization of women’s fundamental right to make informed decisions about their bodies and health. In Mozambique, when the Global Gag Rule was reinstated under the first Trump Administration, we saw a reduction in funding, a reduction in donated contraceptives—including condoms—and a reduction in cutting-edge leadership and technical expertise in the field of sexual and reproductive health and safe abortion.”

Jorge Matine, Director, Ipas Mozambique

January 20, 2025

What to expect from Trump 2.0: The anti-rights brigade are now in power

By Anu Kumar, Ipas President & CEO, in OpenDemocracy

Read the op-ed

The Helms Amendment

The Helms Amendment is a U.S. policy that prohibits the use of foreign assistance funds to pay for abortion “as a method of family planning.” Yet, in practice, it has been applied as a complete ban on the use for funds for abortion-related services and information. This makes the United States the only nation that singles out an essential health service in its foreign aid, stigmatizes it, and imposes an ideological viewpoint on programs that are meant to help millions of people.

In partnership with reproductive rights advocates in the United States and around the world, Ipas fights for the repeal of the Helms Amendment. And as we fight for full repeal, we are working for measures to lessen the far-reaching and dangerous impact these policies have on the lives and health of women.