Trump reverses abortion-related U.S. policy, bans funding to international health groups

WASHINGTON — Yet again, a rule is back in effect to block U.S. international family-planning assistance to organizations that use other money to discuss or pay for abortions in other countries.

President Trump on Monday reversed the Obama administration's 2009 decision that let the money flow. The decision means nonprofits abroad will have to end patient counseling in which abortion is mentioned or forgo U.S. dollars.

The rule is known as the "Mexico City policy" by its supporters and the "global gag rule" by its foes. It was first instituted by President Ronald Reagan during a conference in Mexico City in 1984. Its imposition and absence have toggled back and forth each time a different party has assumed power in the White House.

So the rule stayed in place under President George H.W. Bush and then was rescinded by President Bill Clinton in January 1993. When President George W. Bush came into office in 2001, he imposed the rule that Jan. 22 — the 23rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court Case that legalized abortion in the United States. President Barack Obama lifted the rule eight years later.

The news immediately triggered the same sort of polarized reaction that has defined the policy since its inception.