Global HER Act

What is the Global HER Act?

The Global Health, Empowerment, and Rights Act (Global HER Act) would end Donald Trump’s Global Gag Rule and prevent any future president from unilaterally imposing it again.

Why do we need it?

Trump reimposed his expanded version of the Global Gag Rule on January 24, 2025. It remains one of the most odious policies ever enacted on foreign assistance. When in effect, as it has been under every Republican president since 1984, it strips U.S. foreign assistance from global health care providers if they offer abortion services, counseling, or referral for abortion services, or engage in political advocacy around abortion in their own countries—even if they undertake these activities with their own, separate, non-U.S. funding. It prevents organizations from speaking out about the impact of unsafe abortion in their own countries, despite the fact that unsafe abortion remains a leading cause of maternal death and injury in many low- and middle-income countries.

Additionally, the Global Gag Rule’s documented effects are entirely contrary to the stated goal of reducing abortion: In 2019, independent researchers at Stanford University found that the version of the Global Gag Rule imposed by George W. Bush—a less expansive version than that in effect under Donald Trump—caused abortion rates in the countries most affected to increase by 40 percent between 2001 and 2008.

The only way to end Trump’s Global Gag Rule and ensure that the policy never returns is through permanent, legislative repeal via the Global HER Act. Passing the language of the Global HER Act is a necessary step towards making American policy more effective, more rational, and more just.

Please urge your senators and representative to become co-sponsors of the Global HER Act! You can contact them online using our form.