Health, Abortion Rights, LGBTQI+ Rights, Diversity: Millions of people threatened by a U.S. Law 

Reinstated by the U.S. administration on January 24, 2025, the Global Gag Rule (Mexico City Policy) prohibits organisations receiving U.S. funding from providing or even sharing information on abortion. Today, February 26, 2026, a new extension of this law comes into effect, further conditioning these funds on the absence of any “promotion” of actions related to LGBTQI+ rights or to diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. Doctors of the World warns of the severe and immediate consequences for the health, rights, and lives of millions of people around the world.

The extension of the Global Gag Rule represents an unprecedented threat posed by U.S. policies to the rights and health of the most vulnerable populations. Organisations funded by the U.S. were already prohibited from offering or even communicating about access to abortion. They will now also be required not to mention actions related to LGBTQI+ rights or to diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. 

Beyond the directly affected organisations, the extended rule could also apply to international and multilateral institutions, including United Nations agencies that receive U.S. funds before reallocating them to structures or programs focused on health or human rights, including the protection of LGBTQI+ people, diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

The extension of the Global Gag Rule is another example of humanitarian aid being turned into a tool to push political and ideological agendas.

“This decision marks a major and ideological setback in U.S. foreign policy. The Global Gag Rule – and now its extension – strangles health systems, censors medical information, and forces organisations into an impossible choice: abandon essential care or lose funding. It constitutes a violation of the rights to health, information, and freedom of expression, and diverts international aid from its fundamental purpose: responding to people’s needs. Health must come before politics,” warns Sandrine Simon, Advocacy Director at Doctors of the World France.