The Trump administration may attack access to contraception around the world

The US budget proposal for 2027 assumes the complete elimination of funds for global reproductive health programs, CNN reported on Friday, emphasizing that the White House's willingness to reduce spending by billions of dollars may affect the availability of contraception around the world.

“The budget will not provide funding to support abortion or unrestricted access to contraception,” reads the draft budget, published on the White House website in April. It was added that the funds would also not include support for services for the LGBTQ+ community. “The United States should not pay for contraception and therapy around the world,” the document says.

This policy radicalization dates back to 2025, when President Donald Trump's administration significantly reduced spending on reproductive health programs compared to its predecessors.Democrats. CNN noted, citing data from the International Family Planning Federation (IPPF), that this policy contributed to the closure of almost 1,400 foreign medical facilities, depriving 9 million people of access to sexual and reproductive health services last year.

For comparison, in 2024 – the last year of Joe Biden's presidency – Washington financed 43%. global aid for family planning. This provided access to contraception for 47.6 million women and couples – calculated the Guttmacher Institute, which the station referred to.

According to experts, the actions of the White House may affect the health and lives of women in 41 countries that formerly benefited from the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Many of them are African countries. In Mozambique, the number of teenage pregnancies increased by 7% last year. after the US cut funding for medical aid.

“There is a direct link between the withdrawal of our aid and the increasing vulnerability of girls,” Santos Simione, director of the Mozambique Association for Family Development (AMODEFA), wrote in an email to CNN. “Every percentage point of increase shows girls dropping out of school, which perpetuates the cycle of poverty, increases in HIV infections and the number of child and early marriages,” he added.

In 2024, before Trump returned to the White House, Washington's funding for family planning programs helped prevent 17.1 million unplanned pregnancies and 34,000 deaths. maternal deaths during childbirth – noted the Guttmacher Institute. American funds also helped avoid 5.2 million illegal abortions, the American non-governmental organization emphasized. (PAP)

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