The Global Gag Rule and the Helms Amendment: Dual Policies, Deadly Impact

Reproductive rights are under attack. Will you help us fight back with facts?

Abortion is an essential health care service and should be accessible for everyone, in every country. Two U.S. policies—the “global gag rule” and the Helms Amendment—have interfered with the provision of and support for abortion and other reproductive health services in numerous low- and middle-income countries for decades. These policies have harmed people’s health, damaged health care systems and undermined long-term U.S. foreign policy objectives, with disproportionate effects on those already facing oppression and marginalization. It is long past time for federal policymakers to permanently repeal both policies.

How the global gag rule and Helms Amendment work

• The “global gag rule” prevents foreign nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) from using their own, non-U.S. funds to provide abortion services, information, counseling, referrals or advocacy. Since it was first created in 1984, the policy has historically been put in place by Republican presidents and rescinded by Democratic ones.
• The Helms Amendment, in effect, prohibits U.S. foreign assistance funding from supporting safe abortion services around the world. This draconian policy applies even in countries where abortion is legal, resulting in the United States undermining local health systems, providers and patients by failing to support the right to access a legal health service.
• While these two policies are sometimes conflated, they are distinct, as they involve different sources of funding and different types of organizations. However, they both have disastrous consequences and work together to create an environment hostile to basic human rights and access to health care.

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