Health advocates in Africa worry Trump will reimpose abortion 'gag rule' governing US aid
Women's health advocates in Africa are worried that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will again invoke the so-called global gag rule, a policy that cuts off U.S. government funding for groups that offer abortion-related services
EPWORTH, Zimbabwe (AP) — Carrying her infant daughter, 19-year-old Sithulisiwe Moyo waited two hours to get birth-control pills from a tent pitched in a poor settlement on the outskirts of Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare.
The outreach clinic in Epworth provides Moyo with her best shot at achieving her dream of returning to school. “I am too young to be a baby-making machine," she said. "At least this clinic helps me avoid another pregnancy.”
But the free service funded by the U.S. government, the world’s largest health donor, might soon be unavailable.
As he did in his first term, U.S President-elect Donald Trump is likely in January to invoke the so-called global gag rule, a policy that bars U.S. foreign aid from being used to perform abortions or provide abortion information. The policy cuts off American government funding for services that women around the world rely on to avoid pregnancy or to space out their children, as well as for heath care unrelated to abortion.
