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The Biden-Harris Administration remains resolutely committed to advancing and protecting sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) around the world. Increasing access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information and services improves health and lives of women, children, families and communities. It is fundamental to accelerating universal health coverage and to expanding preventive care; helps girls to enter and stay in school and expands opportunities for women to participate in the labor force; advances gender equality and equity; and promotes and protects the human rights of women, girls, and LGBTQI+ individuals, particularly those who face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination.
The U.S. continues to support global SRH programs, including through its comprehensive programming on voluntary family planning, maternal and child health, and prevention and response to gender-based violence. The United States is proud to remain the largest bilateral donor to global family planning assistance, a commitment spanning more than five decades. The FY 2024 President’s Budget requests funding for the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Department of Health and Human Services to advance U.S. leadership in global health, including by addressing HIV/AIDS, and improving maternal health and reproductive health. The Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade does not change existing overseas U.S. reproductive health programming or funding. Longstanding statutory restrictions related to abortion that apply to U.S. foreign assistance are unaffected by the 2022 Supreme Court decision.
Will the United States continue to provide funding for family planning services?
The United States is proud to remain the largest bilateral donor to global family planning assistance, a commitment spanning more than five decades, and is committed to investing in high-quality, client-centered SRH services that improve women’s well-being, promote gender equality, and ensure women’s control over their bodies and futures. Voluntary family planning, which includes access to contraceptive information and services, helps avoid unintended pregnancies.
Are United States foreign assistance funds used to fund abortions in other countries?
Since 1973, there have been legislative restrictions on using foreign assistance funds for abortion-related activities. These restrictions are set forth in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and/or the annual Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act and they remain unchanged by the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (Dobbs). These legislative restrictions include but are not limited to:
Can United States foreign assistance funding be used to provide evidence-based counseling and referral services to clients, in accordance with local law?
Yes. According to the 1994 Leahy Amendment, U.S. foreign assistance funding can be used to provide information or counseling about all pregnancy options, consistent with local law.
Can United States foreign assistance funding be used to provide post-abortion care, consistent with local law?
Yes. The United States remains concerned about the global impact of unsafe abortions, which increases maternal mortality and morbidity, and reaffirms its supportive position on post-abortion care as an essential lifesaving intervention.
Does the United States support the so-called Geneva Consensus Declaration?
No. The United States withdrew from the so-called Geneva Consensus Declaration (GCD) in January 2021, and immediately notified GCD members. The Trump Administration promoted a joint statement titled “The Geneva Consensus Declaration on Promoting Women’s Health and Strengthening the Family” outside of the UN system, which arbitrarily quotes from various UN instruments on women, family, and life, including instruments the United States has not ratified. The GCD promotes anti-LGBTQI sentiment and undermines women’s health. The GCD is not a UN document and does not reflect consensus successfully achieved at the UN. The declaration’s narrow framing on “traditional” families fails to recognize the diversity of families that exist around the world and the many valuable roles women play across their lives, including as economic contributors. The Biden-Harris Administration remains concerned that the Geneva Consensus Declaration undermines UN multilateral efforts to advance gender equality and global health through the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
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