Up to 20 countries have indicated support for the Netherlands’ plan to set up an international safe abortion fund to plug a $600m funding gap caused by Donald Trump’s reinstatement of the “global gag rule”, the Dutch international development minister, Lilianne Ploumen, said on Wednesday. Trump’s rule is even more restrictive than the gag rule (also known as the Mexico City Policy) under Presidents George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, which prohibited NGOs with any involvement on abortion from receiving U.S. family planning funds. While Ploumen plugged the Netherland’s commitment to women’s access to healthcare and equality, the Dutch government steered clear of calling out Trump directly. According to the estimates of the World Health Organisation, around 22 million women across the world experience unsafe abortions every year, and the majority of these women come from developing countries.
Belgium supports a plan by Dutch minister Lilianne Ploumen to launch a fund compensating worldwide for the United States' newly-reinstated Mexico City policy.