Issue Brief: Impact of Mexico City Policy on PEPFAR (Updated)

On January 23, 2017, President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum reinstating and expanding the Mexico City Policy (MCP), which was first introduced by President Reagan in 1984. Historically, the policy has prohibited the provision of U.S. family planning funding to any non-U.S. nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning. President Clinton repealed MCP in 1993; it was then reinstated by President Bush in 2001 and repealed again by President Obama in 2009.

Under previous administrations, MCP has only applied to U.S. foreign assistance for family planning programs, totaling approximately $600 million per year. President Bush specifically exempted the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) from MCP when it was created in 2003.  However, President Trump directed the secretaries of State and Health and Human Services to develop a plan to extend MCP to all global health assistance from the U.S. government, including PEPFAR.

In this issue brief, amfAR assesses the potential impact of the extension of MCP on PEPFAR and the global response to HIV.

Download the full issue brief by clicking here or the image below.