Introduction
In 1984 at the United Nations International Conference on Population in Mexico City, President Reagan introduced a ban on U.S. government financial
aid to all American and foreign family planning agencies that support or practice abortion in foreign countries. Known as the "Mexico City Policy," this
executive order cut off all financial funds to any foreign non-governmental organization that provided abortion, abortion counseling or connected services,
even if these organizations were in countries where abortion is legalized or in practice with local policy and medical practice. This law also made it so that
foreign organizations that promised to use their own private funds for abortion practices or lobbying for changes in abortion rights, could not receive U.S.
funding for other forms of family planning.

President George H.W. Bush kept this foreign policy during his presidency, but President Clinton invalidated it soon after he took office, referring to
it as the global or international gag rule. On January 22, 2001, however, President George W. Bush, as one of his very first acts in office, reinstated
the Mexico City Policy, firmly stating his belief that taxpayer funds should not be used to support organizations that perform and promote abortions for
overseas family planning programs. President Bush has enforced strict procedures such as legally binding contracts with organizations receiving funds and close monitoring to assure that no USAID funds are used for abortion. Since his enforcement, pro-abortion organizations and women's rights groups have rallied
against his administration, claiming the unjust impact of this policy.