Global Gag Rule

The global gag rule not only prohibits U.S. foreign aid for abortion care; it also prevents foreign organizations from using their own, non-U.S. funds to provide abortion services, information, counseling, referrals or advocacy. Since its creation in 1984, the policy has been repeatedly issued by Republican presidents and rescinded by Democratic presidents.

Trump Considers Blocking Abortion Access for Unaccompanied Immigrant Minors in Federal Custody (Again)

PUBLISHED 4/4/2026 by and

A looming policy change threatens to undo existing protections and leave pregnant immigrant teens in federal custody without meaningful access to abortion care.

We won’t know what direction the rule will take until the proposed rule is released, but if the Trump administration’s antiabortion policies—such as the reinstatement of the Veterans Administration’s ban on abortion and abortion counseling, the defunding of Planned Parenthood and the reinstatement of an expanded global gag rule—are any indication, the rights of this marginalized population are at great risk.

Misogyny Isn’t Just About Women—and the Killing of Alex Pretti Proves It

PUBLISHED 1/29/2026 by

The Trump administration has made misogyny a governing principle, deploying it not only to control women but to enforce a rigid hierarchy of power that punishes anyone who disrupts it. The killing of Alex Pretti makes that unmistakably clear.

Pretti—a 37-year-old ICU nurse—was not threatening law enforcement. He was doing what the administration endlessly romanticizes and selectively rewards: stepping in to protect a woman who was being shoved and pepper-sprayed by federal agents. For that, he was tackled, disarmed and shot 10 times. The violence that ended his life did not contradict the administration’s worldview—it followed it to its logical conclusion.

Misogyny functions as a system, not a personality trait. It relies on domination masquerading as protection, and it turns lethal when its myths are exposed. Pretti shattered two of them at once: the fantasy of the “good guy with a gun” and the claim that this administration acts as a protector of women. His calm, visible effort to shield someone else left no room for reinterpretation, only denial. When authoritarian power cannot reconcile what we have seen with what it insists we believe, it chooses force. We know what happened in Minneapolis. We know who tried to protect whom. And we should be clear about what kind of politics requires us to look away.

What One Year of Trump’s Second Term Has Cost Women, at Home and Worldwide

PUBLISHED 1/26/2026 by

Trying to take stock of what’s happened in the year since Donald Trump took office for the second time is a daunting task—from the barrage of executive orders, to the appointment of unqualified Cabinet members, restructuring and elimination of federal agencies, mass firings of federal employees, attacks on universities and women’s studies programs to elimination of diversity programs, and more.

It’s not just women in the U.S. who are being impacted: the dismantling of USAID funding last year, and most recently Trump’s radically expanded global gag rule, announced Friday, threaten the lives and well-being of women worldwide.

Each move is a blow to our fundamental rights, and we can’t let any action go unnoticed.

A Very Bad Year for Women’s Health

PUBLISHED 12/24/2025 by

When I started writing for The Contrarian, a funny-not-funny inside joke was whether there would be enough fodder for a weekly democracy column that overtly centers gender. I think you already know the punchline. Suffice it to say, I did not miss a single Wednesday in all of 2025.

For my final entry of the year, we thought it worthwhile to offer a snapshot—a year’s worth of reporting on the depth of damage this administration has wreaked on women’s health, with real-time Contrarian reporting noted.

The Ripple Effects of the U.S. Retreat from International Reproductive Care

PUBLISHED 10/19/2025 by , and

The U.S. withdrawal of international reproductive health funding is already having devastating effects around the world. Clinics are closing, health workers go unpaid, and essential medications and contraceptives sit unused in warehouses while millions of women and families lose access to life-saving care.

These abrupt cuts are not just administrative—they are a direct attack on decades of global health progress, putting children, pregnant women and marginalized communities at heightened risk of preventable disease, unintended pregnancy and death.

Yet there is still a path forward. The infrastructure to deliver reproductive and public health services remains in place, and health workers are ready to act. If funding is restored, we can prevent the worst outcomes, safeguard global health, and ensure that the fundamental human rights to health, life and bodily autonomy are protected.

The global community must act urgently to reverse the harm and prevent a full-scale public health and human rights crisis.

U.S.-Funded Contraceptives Meant for Crisis Zones Are Headed for the Furnace—Unless Congress Acts

PUBLISHED 8/7/2025 by

Nearly $10 million worth of U.S.-funded contraceptives—purchased to support women in some of the most desperate places on Earth—are currently sitting in a Belgian warehouse, slated for destruction. The supplies include long-acting contraceptives such as implants and IUDs, as well as birth control pills, many of which remain sealed, viable and do not expire until 2031.

According to advocates, there are qualified organizations—including the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and MSI Reproductive Choices—prepared to accept and distribute the supplies at no additional cost to the U.S. government. But Secretary of State Marco Rubio, appointed earlier this year, has not authorized their release.

In response, Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) have introduced legislation to stop the destruction. The Saving Lives and Taxpayer Dollars Act would require the contraceptives to be released for their intended humanitarian use and prohibit incineration of still-viable medical supplies.

Advocates are urging members of the public to call or email their senators and representatives to demand they pressure the State Department to release the contraceptives, not destroy them.

The U.N. Should Condemn the U.S.’ Human Rights Record on Abortion

PUBLISHED 7/9/2025 by and

The periodic United Nations review of the United States’ human rights record is coming up in November. With the Trump administration’s far-reaching, intensifying attacks, the timing could not be more opportune. Never have U.S. institutions, funding and initiatives that promote the rule of law, faced such an abject threat. This is a moment to shine a light on U.S. abuses on the global stage.

Foreign Aid Cuts Will Lead to 34,000 More Pregnancy-Related Deaths in Just One Year 

PUBLISHED 3/19/2025 by and

The freeze on U.S. foreign assistance funding and the subsequent stop work order has already taken an irreversible toll on global health programs, including family planning services, causing chaos across public health systems and forcing many sexual and reproductive health providers and programs to close doors permanently. Despite ongoing litigation to challenge these actions in court—including an important court victory that found this attack likely unconstitutional—most USAID partners are still waiting for government payments for work already completed. Adding to the upheaval, the administration gutted USAID staff and cancelled 83 percent of its aid contracts. 

Contrary to the Trump administration’s claims, cutting foreign aid for reproductive health is not a fiscal gain, but a significant step backward.  

Weaponizing Aid: How U.S. Policies Undermine Reproductive Health in Humanitarian Crises

PUBLISHED 2/18/2025 by

U.S. policies like the global gag rule (GGR) have long restricted access to reproductive healthcare worldwide, but their impact on refugee women and girls in humanitarian crises is often overlooked. By cutting funding to NGOs that provide or even discuss abortion care, the GGR limits essential services such as contraception, post-abortion care, and maternal health support for millions of displaced women. In conflict zones and refugee camps, where healthcare is already scarce, these restrictions leave women without options, increasing the risks of unsafe abortions, maternal mortality and gender-based violence.

As the U.S. continues to wield foreign aid as a political tool, the lives of the world’s most vulnerable women hang in the balance.

‘Silence Is an Enemy’: Rep. Frankel Leads the Fight for Global Reproductive Rights

PUBLISHED 2/12/2025 by

The Global HER Act, led by Rep. Lois Frankel, aims to permanently repeal the global gag rule, which restricts funding for international healthcare providers that offer or even discuss abortion services—jeopardizing reproductive care for millions worldwide.

“They’re gagging you, they’re putting something over your mouth to prevent you from giving information. … Silence is an enemy,” Frankel told Ms. “And so, we cannot be silent. … One of the ways that we talk is with a bill.”