The Ins and Outs of U.S. Abortion-Related Restrictions Abroad and at Home

Over the past 50 years, anti-choice politicians have set out to restrict federal funding for and access to abortion care in the United States and overseas through foreign assistance. While the June 2022 Supreme Court decision reversing Roe v. Wade gave individual U.S. states the ability to determine the legality of abortion, there are still numerous federal restrictions relating to abortion put in place by Congress, such as the Helms, Hyde and Siljander amendments, as well as executive actions taken by presidents, like the Global Gag Rule. With so many troubling policies in place, they are often confused or conflated with one another.

To help clarify where, when and how these policies came about and the harmful impacts of each, PAI has developed a fact sheet highlighting a few of the key U.S. abortion-related provisions abroad and at home. The policies listed here represent only a fraction of those that govern U.S. sexual and reproductive health and rights in domestic and foreign assistance programs.