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What's all this talk about Mexico City Policy?

The Bush Administration --
Without fanfare or public notice, President George W. Bush signed a presidential memorandum to reinstate the Mexico City policy. This policy prevents United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funding from going to international family planning agencies in developing countries. This money was previously earmarked for education around issues of family planning, abortion, and for the disbursement of sexuality information. To underscore his seriousness and dedication to eradicating all family planning education and information in developing countries, Bush put forth this presidential memorandum.

Statistics show that a majority of Americans support U.S. aid for international family planning. According to Planned Parenthood, eight out of ten Americans believe that such support saves and improves the lives of thousands of women across the globe and therefore should continue.

What is the Mexico City Policy?
Introduced by President Reagan in 1984 in Mexico City, this policy denied U. S. international family planning funds to any non-governmental organization (NGO) (both U.S. and non-U.S.) engaged directly or indirectly in abortion related activities (ARA), even if they were using non-US Federal funding for these activities.

Has the Mexico City Policy been in place since 1984?
No. President Clinton withdrew this policy as soon as he came to power in 1993.

Why has the Mexico City Policy been in the news recently?
President Bush, on his first day in office, 22 January 2001, re-instated the Mexico City Policy. Noteworthy: January 22 is the anniversary of Roe v. Wade (no coincidence)

How has President Bush gained support for this action?
He gained support from some Americans because he led them to believe that from now on, no U. S. taxpayers' money would be spent on ARA internationally. However, no American taxpayers' money has been spent on ARA internationally since 1973 when Senator Jesse Helms introduced a policy preventing this, which was known as the Helms Amendment. This policy has been maintained ever since.

What are abortion related activities (ARA)?
Abortion related activities include information provision, counseling, advocacy and lobbying, as well as clinical services.

What is the impact of the Mexico City Policy?
Organizations that do not sign up to the Mexico City Policy will lose U.S. funding. The majority of this would have been spent on sexual and reproductive health programs, including family planning, which would have prevented unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion. The effect now will be to increase, not decrease, the number of abortions worldwide.