Vice President JD Vance announced Friday that the Trump administration is significantly expanding a policy restricting U.S. Funding for foreign organizations involved in abortion services, now extending the restrictions to groups promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and what the administration terms “gender ideology.” The move, unveiled at the annual March for Life rally in Washington, D.C., represents a substantial broadening of the decades-old Mexico City Policy.
The expanded policy, now formally known as “Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance” (PLFA) under the broader “Promoting Human Flourishing in Foreign Assistance” (PHFFA) framework, will block U.S. Funding not only to organizations performing or promoting abortions abroad but also to those the administration says promote DEI and “gender ideology.” According to an administration official, the policy applies to foreign NGOs, international organizations, and U.S. NGOs.
The original Mexico City Policy, first implemented by the Reagan administration in 1984, required foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to certify they would not perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning as a condition of receiving U.S. Global family planning assistance. Prior to the policy, foreign NGOs could use non-U.S. Funds for certain abortion-related activities, provided they maintained segregated accounts for U.S. Funding. The policy has been repeatedly rescinded by Democratic administrations and reinstated by Republican ones.
President Trump initially reinstated and expanded the policy in 2017, increasing the amount of U.S. Bilateral global health assistance subject to restrictions to over $7 billion, encompassing programs addressing HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, malaria, and nutrition. The Biden administration rescinded the policy upon taking office, but President Trump reinstated it through a presidential memorandum on January 24, 2025, directing the Secretary of State to broaden its scope.
The latest expansion, detailed in three final rules released January 27, 2026, goes further than previous iterations. The rules prohibit promoting “discriminatory equity ideology,” including activities related to DEI, and promoting “gender ideology,” encompassing gender-affirming care and legal protections based on gender identity. The rules cite multiple presidential actions from January and February 2025 concerning foreign aid, DEI, and gender issues, stating the aim is to align foreign aid with administration policy and “promote human flourishing.”
KFF estimates that as much as $39.8 billion in U.S. Foreign aid and nearly 2,600 recipient organizations could be affected by the expanded policy, though this figure is considered a conservative estimate due to the cascading nature of funding through sub-awards. The State Department will collaborate with other agencies administering foreign assistance to further broaden the policy’s reach.
The announcement at the March for Life rally was met with applause from attendees. Vance stated, “We’re going to start blocking every international NGO that performs or promotes abortion abroad from receiving $1 of US money. Now we’re expanding this policy to protect life, to combat DEI and the radical gender ideologies that prey on our children.”
