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The Trump administration has proposed a rule to expand a ban on use of U.S. tax dollars to pay for abortions abroad, so that it would include federal contracts and subcontracts that receive U.S. global health assistance.

Two of the largest federal contracting agencies, the Defense Department and the General Services Administration, were joined by NASA in proposing the rule Monday. It’s listed in the Federal Register for public comments for two months. 

“This is yet another great example of the Trump administration continuing to fight for the right to life as the most pro-life administration ever,” a Trump administration official told The Daily Signal on Tuesday. 

The so-called Mexico City policy first went into place in 1984 during the Reagan administration, and has been rescinded and reinstated ever since depending on which party controls the White House. However, the policy forbidding use of tax dollars for abortions in foreign countries currently affects only federal grants. 

The limitation creates a significant loophole for federal funds to be used indirectly for groups that perform or promote abortion internationally. That’s because 40% of U.S. global health funding has come through federal contracts, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.  

President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo deserve credit for the change, said Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee. 

“Under President Trump, U.S. taxpayer dollars to all global health assistance was not to be used to support abortion or organizations that lobby to overturn pro-life laws, but under this [new] rule, recipients of global health assistance cannot contract with organizations that adovocate for abortions,” Tobias told The Daily Signal. “I am pleased but I am not surprised, because President Trump and Secretary of State Pompeo have been big defenders of the unborn.”

read more here: https://www.dailysignal.com/2020/09/16/trump-moves-to-expand-international-pro-life-policy/