Cambridge, MA, January 28, 2026 – On Tuesday, January 27, the Trump Administration published a set of new rules that massively expand the Global Gag Rule (GGR)—reinstated a year ago—which prohibits organizations that receive US foreign aid funding from providing information about abortion or abortion care. This new expansion of the GGR applies to virtually all non-military US foreign assistance, including funding for humanitarian aid organizations that supply basic necessities after natural disasters or conflicts. The guidance also prohibits funding for entities that recognize gender diversity and work to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion, using vague and unscientific terms like "gender ideology," "discriminatory equity ideology," and "unlawful diversity, equity, and inclusion." This expands the administration’s attacks on LGBTQ+ communities and efforts to promote racial justice and equity to foreign aid, despite extensive public health and scientific evidence that shows this work is critical to improving health and well-being.
Ibis President, Kelly Blanchard, released the following statement:
“This terrible expansion of an already terrible policy will have sweeping impact: erasing trans, nonbinary, and intersex communities; disrupting access to a range of health care services and even disaster relief efforts across the globe—compounding the harms of the cruel destruction of USAID and its life-saving programs—and further endangering the lives and health of communities that already face disproportionate barriers to reproductive health care and other basic needs due to systemic oppression and an ongoing history of discrimination. Sadly, these rules are in keeping with other actions of this administration that ignore science and evidence-based strategies to advance health and well-being, terrorize immigrants and people of color, and undermine US and global institutions that have made important advances in public health and access to care possible.
We call on policymakers and advocates to join us in speaking out against the expanded Global Gag Rule which will endanger health and put lives at risk across the globe, especially for communities that are already experiencing humanitarian crises, reeling from natural disasters, and grappling with ongoing attacks on their human rights to bodily autonomy. At Ibis, we will continue our work to identify strategies to increase access to health care—including abortion, contraception, and gender-affirming care—for communities that face the highest barriers to access—including young people, women, and trans, nonbinary, and intersex individuals, people with disabilities, immigrant communities, and Black, Indigenous, AANHPI, Latine/x and other folks of color—in the United States and across the globe.”