US attacks on reproductive rights worldwide
Learn about the specific ways we’ve seen the US influencing and attacking reproductive rights everywhere, and how we can protect choice.
Attacks on global abortion rights and contraception
We are witnessing a deliberate and systematic attempt to roll back reproductive rights worldwide.
This has ramped up in 2025, with a second Trump administration making decisions with far-reaching consequences for women and girls around the world.
Anti-choice groups are emboldened, increasing their protests and presence to undermine and remove access to abortion and contraception. International aid funding that supported women’s health programmes has been gutted. Life-saving services have had to shut down.
One of the best ways we can stand firm against these attacks is to remain informed on how US policy decisions and anti-choice tactics are influencing reproductive rights, so we can hold the line. Read on to learn more.
Defunding international family planning
Immediately upon taking office, the Trump administration ordered for international aid funding to be frozen and for global health work to stop – leading to sudden programme closures, job losses, and the withdrawal of health services in communities worldwide.
Millions of women and girls were stripped of their access to reproductive healthcare and choices. MSI teams have been pivoting and adapting to keep services going.
Learn how USAID cuts have endangered international reproductive healthcare.
The global gag rule and global impact of US policy decisions on abortion
Trump’s administration reinstated the ‘global gag rule’ in early 2025, denying women across the globe access to abortion and defunding reproductive healthcare programmes globally. The rule prohibits NGOs who receive funding from the US government to provide or refer anyone to abortion services.
Learn more about what the global gag rule means for reproductive healthcare worldwide.
Roe v Wade
Three years after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case in June 2022, the global effects continue to be felt. The ruling removed the constitutional right to abortion in the US, which women had relied on for decades to access safe and legal abortion care. This devastating decision was felt worldwide, as anti-choice groups were emboldened to roll back rights elsewhere too.
Learn more about the global effects of Roe v Wade being overturned.
Anti-choice protests
There has been a rise in the presence of anti-choice, anti-abortion, and anti-rights groups in many countries. From the ‘40 days for life’ where people stand outside abortion clinics for 40 days, to reports of increased funding for groups lobbying to roll back our rights.
Learn more about anti-choice protests and how we can hold the line.
Disinformation on contraception and abortion (abortifacients)
Disinformation is being increasingly used as a tactic by anti-choice groups to confuse and mislead people on sexual and reproductive health and rights.
For example, the US government has falsely claimed that certain types of contraception are ‘abortifacient’ (meaning they induce abortion), in a deliberate political move to undermine access to contraception.
MSI has debunked this disinformation. Birth control is not abortion.
Read our response to the US government calling contraception ‘abortifacient’.
Burning of USAID contraceptives
The US government made a call this year to destroy, rather than distribute, almost $10 million worth of contraception paid for by the American taxpayer. These were meant for women internationally, as part of global health programmes.
MSI has been raising the alarm to see if they can be saved from incineration.
Learn why contraceptives might be burned, following Trump’s aid cuts.
Project 2025
Project 2025 is a proposal document that suggests hundreds of controversial, conservative US policy changes. It includes far-reaching attacks on sexual and reproductive rights, proposing a future where abortion is banned and LGBTQ+ rights are denied.
Read more about how Project 2025 threatens reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ rights.
Abortion rights
Many women around the world are denied access to abortion, even though it’s a safe and essential form of healthcare, and a human right. Every day our fight continues – until everyone has access to abortion and can make informed and safe choices about their own bodies.
Learn more about where abortion is legal and easily accessible and where it is restricted, including in Europe, Africa and America.
Learn about abortion rights around the world.
How to support abortion rights globally
With the right to abortion, women and girls have more agency to choose what happens to their own bodies and lives. Abortion access is critical for building healthy communities and advancing gender equality.
As one of the world’s leading providers of abortion and reproductive healthcare working across six continents, MSI won’t be backing down.
We will continue to provide abortion unapologetically and fight loudly for abortion access everywhere.
Decisions made in the US impact abortion rights everywhere. We need to protect progress and hold the line against the attacks we’re seeing. Here’s how you can help, and stay in the loop:
