Project 2025 Tracker / What’s done, what’s next

9. Agency for International Development · Major

Issue an executive order reinstating the Mexico City Policy (PLGHA)

Done

261 9. Agency for International Development

“To stop U.S. foreign aid from supporting the global abortion industry, the next conservative Administration should issue an executive order that, at a minimum, reinstates PLGHA and summarily blocks funding to UNFPA but also closes loopholes by applying the policy to all foreign assistance, including humanitarian aid, and improving its enforcement.”

What has happened

  1. Done

    State Department final rule added a "Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance" award term to grants, cooperative agreements and voluntary contributions across its foreign-assistance authorities (Foreign Assistance Act, FREEDOM Support Act, Migration and Refugee Assistance Act, SEED Act), covering foreign and U.S. NGOs, public international organizations, foreign governments and parastatals — the loophole-closing extension beyond global health the Mandate asked for. Effective 2026-02-26.

  2. Done

    Presidential memorandum "The Mexico City Policy" revoked the 2021 rescission, reinstated the 2017 memorandum (the basis of PLGHA) and directed State and HHS to extend the policy to global health assistance furnished by all departments and agencies. Issued as a memorandum rather than an executive order.

Research log

What was searched, and what didn’t count as evidence

Research notes

  • The Mandate asked for an executive order; the instrument was a presidential memorandum (the same form used in 2017). Treated as the ask achieved — the memorandum reinstates PLGHA in terms and has the same legal effect for this purpose.
  • The 2026-01-27 rule’s companion, “Combating Gender Ideology in Foreign Assistance” (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/01/27/2026-01516/combating-gender-ideology-in-foreign-assistance), is not part of this ask and is not cited.
  • The Mandate’s “including humanitarian aid” clause: the award term is issued under the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act among others, which reaches humanitarian accounts; how far it is applied to humanitarian awards in practice was not verified on an allowlisted source.
  • #670 (UNFPA) and #520 (abortion in international programs) share these sources.
Action
reinstate
Object
Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance (PLGHA) policy
ID
669