Policies and decisions made in the United States echo around the world and often have widespread implications. Take sexual and reproductive health, for example. Decisions made in the US have caused, and could cause, severe damage to progress in access to these services in developing countries.

The first US policy with implications for healthcare in other countries is the global gag rule, first enacted by Ronald Reagan in 1984. Under this policy, non-US organisations that receive US government funding cannot provide, refer for, or promote abortion as a method of family planning. Successive US presidents have decided whether to enact or revoke the policy. President Joe Biden set it aside when he took office in 2021.

The second is the decision before the US Supreme Court on the right of women to choose abortion. Recently leaked documents suggest the court may overturn the landmark 1973 decision, Roe v Wade, that gave American women this choice. The final decision is expected in a couple of months.

For countries that look to the US for guidance and for funding, the consequences will go beyond abortion. The striking down of Roe v Wade, coupled with the global gag rule (if and when it is reinstated by a Republican administration), empowers national and international opposition to sexual and reproductive health services such as family planning, abortion, and comprehensive sexuality education.

In African countries, where incremental gains are beginning to manifest in improved legislation and policies due to decades of advocacy and lobbying, this would be a devastating blow. For example, in 2020 we studied the impact of the global gag rule in Kenya. Our findings pointed to government officials using the US government position to restrict conversations around abortion in official meetings.

What happens in the US may effectively deny women their rights and set back the sustainable development agenda target of reducing maternal, neonatal, and child morbidity and mortality.

Global gag rule
In 2017, under President Donald Trump’s administration, the US government reinstated and expanded the global gag rule.

Read more- https://theconversation.com/how-us-policy-on-abortion-affects-women-in-africa-182525