In March 2020, the PvdA (Dutch Labour Party) board nominated Lilianne Ploumen to be the party’s leader in the parliamentary elections. Ploumen had previously gained international recognition when she launched the SheDecides Foundation which aimed to provide access to safe abortions to women worldwide after the Trump administration cut funding for family planning.
Ploumen is aligned with one of Joe Biden’s first policy amendments – to repeal the “global gag rule” (also known as the Mexico City Policy that prohibits non-governmental organizations receiving U.S. federal assistance to provide abortion services). This measure, taken by Donald Trump in 2017, resulted in dramatic consequences. In dozens of developing countries, the provision of contraception to young people was stopped, abortion clinics were closed and the fight against AIDS was endangered.
It was Ploumen who, as Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, took the initiative for emergency action. Almost immediately she founded the SheDecides Foundation, an international coalition that has raised hundreds of millions of euros to partially close the hole caused by Trump’s decision. She will be able to celebrate her triumph within ten days of Biden’s inauguration when he plans to reverse Trump’s decision, according to the New York Times. In addition, Vice President Kamala Harris co-sponsored a bill in 2019 that should make the funding of women’s programs more firmly enshrined in law so that it cannot be discontinued without due process.
History has repeated itself with the reversal of the global gag rule. On the first day of his presidency, Barack Obama scrapped a similar measure instigated by his predecessor, George Bush. He too, like Trump, wanted to prevent U.S. government money from being used directly or indirectly to facilitate abortion elsewhere in the world.
However, there is a difference in that Bush’s funding cut related only to birth control programs whereas Trump’s policy affected every aspect of healthcare in developing countries. The taps were also turned off for organizations attempting to take action to prevent unsafe abortions within the scope of their overall work.
Major American NGOs distributing funding to local partners in the South had to ensure that no money ever had anything to do with abortion. Even those who simply advocated for better abortion laws were left to whistle for their money.
“With Biden’s step, the relief work will not be back up to standard overnight. It is not a matter of turning a switch”, said Jonathan Rucks, Director of Advocacy at PAI, the champions of global reproductive rights.
Trump’s departure may have other consequences. Under his leadership, conservatives worldwide had the wind in their sails when it came to sexual rights. As of Wednesday, 20th of January, Washington is no longer an ally for them.
