In one of his first actions upon entering office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that revived the Mexico City Policy, which prevents U.S. taxpayer dollars from being used to fund organizations that perform or even promote abortions in foreign countries.
This isn't exactly new, every time a Democrat becomes president, the Mexico City Policy is killed off, and every time a Republican enters office, it's revived.
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The issue is that it cuts funding to hundreds of international charities that provide a wide array of women's health care in developing countries — not just abortions. And the ban is so wide that if an organization so much as provides advice to women who are seeking an abortion, they can get their funding cut.
And with the U.S. spending $10 billion annually on global health, $607.5 million of which goes to reproductive health, it's unclear how badly this decision will hurt women in impoverished countries who will also lose access to health services unrelated to abortion, such as contraception.
But thankfully, the Netherlands could help to soften the impact. Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Lilianne Ploumen, announced today that she intends to establish an international fund which would finance projects who are losing their funding. Ploumen specifically said the move is a reaction to Trump's decision to revive the Mexico City Policy.
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Ploumen said the fund could be supported by governments, businesses, and social organizations in an attempt to “compensate this financial setback as much as possible.” She told fellow members of the Government:
“This has far-reaching consequences. First of all, for all those women who have to make, if they want to have a child, a choice, but also for their husbands and children and society as a whole. Banning abortion does not lead to fewer abortions. It leads to more irresponsible practices in back rooms and more maternal deaths.”
She went on to quote figures from Marie Stopes International, who are losing their funding, saying that up to 14 women a day could die as a result of Trump's decision.
Hopefully, this movement receives the support it needs. We're guessing it will since the people of the Netherlands don't seem to be the biggest fans of President Trump.
from Distractify http://distractify.com/news/2017/01/25/netherlands-trump-mexico-city-policy
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