GILBERT – Congressman Andy Biggs has introduced a resolution to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Mexico City policy. The Mexico City policy requires foreign nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that receive U.S. family planning funds to certify they do not provide abortions or give abortion advice.
Biggs’ resolution has 82 cosponsors.
The policy, described by pro-abortion advocates as a “global gag rule,” was expanded in March 2019. That expansion included cuts to funding to the Organization of American States (OAS) and prohibits the use of U.S. tax dollars to lobby for or against abortion rights.
In 2017, President Trump reinstated the policy after it had been abandoned by President Obama in 2009.
“Thirty-five years ago this month, President Ronald Reagan’s representative at the United Nation’s International Conference on Population, which was held in Mexico City, stated unequivocally that American taxpayer dollars should never be used to fund international abortions. And yet, this Mexico City policy—as it has come to be called—has only been in effect for 19 of the past 35 years. Congress must make the Mexico City policy permanent law and enact as many other measures as possible to defend the sanctity of life both at home and abroad,” said Biggs in his announcement of the resolution last week.
“I thank my colleagues and leaders from pro-life organizations around the country for joining me in celebrating this historic anniversary, which I hope will also serve as a call to action,” concluded Biggs.
The National Right to Life Committee praised Biggs, noting that the “vital life-saving policy has been adopted by each Republican president, and rescinded by each Democrat president. The group called for the policy to become “permanent law.”
“In 1984, Ronald Reagan sent a powerful message to the world that our nation respects the dignity of all innocent life—both at home and abroad. I commend Congressman Biggs for honoring this anniversary, which I hope will spread awareness about an important moment in history and spur a wider conversation about our nation’s values,” said Cathi Herrod, President, of the Center for Arizona Policy
Congresswoman Debbie Lesko said she was “proud to join my colleagues in commemorating the 35th anniversary of the Mexico City policy.”
Democrats have called the Mexico City Policy a dangerous attack on women’s reproductive health. However, the policy does not apply to abortions or abortion referrals in cases of rape, incest, or danger to the life of the mother.