President Donald Trump is moving to expand restrictions on foreign aid to organizations that support abortion services, potentially affecting $30 billion in funding to groups around the world.
The policy expansion was first reported by Fox News and later confirmed by the Associated Press on Thursday.
The move builds on a framework that originated during the Reagan administration but has been repeatedly scaled back under Democratic presidents.
The updated policy will not only target organizations providing or promoting abortion services but will also include groups that advance diversity, equity and inclusion programs (DEI), as well as gender ideology initiatives.
This represents a significant broadening of the original policy scope.
Trump has already taken decisive action on DEI and gender-related policies within his own administration.
On his first day in office, he signed an executive order aimed at eliminating DEI programs, positions, offices and initiatives throughout the federal government.
The president also addressed gender policy on his inaugural day.
He signed an order titled “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”
The order formally recognizes that women are biologically female and men are biologically male.
The expanded foreign aid restrictions come as organizations worldwide face the prospect of losing substantial funding.
The $30 billion figure represents American tax dollars that have previously supported these groups’ operations, per the AP.
The timing of the announcement coincided with another significant policy decision from the Trump administration.
Officials announced a prohibition on the use of fetal tissue from abortions in research funded by the National Institutes of Health, Resist the Mainstream reported.
Vice President J.D. Vance addressed the abortion issue directly during his speech at the March for Life event on Friday.
“The mark of barbarism is that we treat babies like inconveniences to be discarded rather than the blessings to cherish that they are,” Vance stated to attendees.
The administration’s actions reflect a comprehensive approach to abortion policy both domestically and internationally. The moves signal a departure from previous policies that had provided funding to organizations with ties to abortion services.
According to data cited from the World Health Organization by Global Citizen Solutions, approximately 73 million abortions occur annually worldwide.
This figure represents the scale of abortion procedures taking place across different countries and regions.
The Reagan-era policy that serves as the foundation for these new restrictions has historically been subject to changes based on which party controls the White House.
Republican administrations have typically enforced or expanded such restrictions, while Democratic administrations have lifted them.
Resist the Mainstream reported over the weekend that Vance publicly blasted conservative influencer Laura Loomer for attacking the Trump administration over its abortion messaging ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Loomer criticized the White House for participating in the annual March for Life, accusing Republicans of repeating mistakes she claims cost the party elections.
She also argued that emphasizing abortion in a midterm year was politically reckless and insisted that Trump himself prefers the GOP to downplay the issue.
