Vice President JD Vance announced today that the U.S. government is expanding the “Mexico City” policy to cut off all funding to foreign non-government organizations promoting abortion—and now includes advocates of “radical gender ideologies” and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
The announcement came at this year’s March for Life rally in Washington, D.C., where Vance stated the expanded policy would be “about three times as big as it was before.” He added: “Now we’re expanding this policy to protect life, to combat DEI and the radical gender ideologies that prey on our children.”
The policy, first implemented by President Ronald Reagan in 1984 at a United Nations conference in Mexico City, restricts U.S. foreign aid from funding organizations abroad that provide or promote abortion services—even when such activities are lawful and fully supported by non-U.S. funds. The administration’s recent expansion reinstates the rule under the previous Trump presidency but broadens its scope to explicitly target gender ideology advocacy and DEI programs.
This move follows a pattern of periodic reinstatement of the policy by Republican presidents, with the current administration marking its most significant overhaul since it was initially enacted. Vance described the action as “a huge pro-life victory” and emphasized its role in “protecting innocent lives of unborn children.”
