rePROs Fight Back

The Global Gag Rule is Once Again Expanded, Maximizing Harm

The Global Gag Rule, started by President Ronald Regan in 1984, prevented foreign NGOs from receiving U.S. family planning assistance if they performed, promoted, advocated for, counseled on, or referred patients for abortion. It has gone in and out of place since then, depending on who is in the White House. It was expanded during the first Trump administration to apply not only to family planning funding, but all of global health funding. Caitlin Horrigan, Senior Director of Global Advocacy at the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Beirne Roose-Snyder, Senior Policy Fellow at the Council for Global Equality, sit down to talk with us about the new and purposefully broad expansion on an already-devastating rule.  The Global Gag Rule impacts the most marginalized—women and girls, Black and brown people, the LGBTQI+ community, those in humanitarian settings, those living rurally, people living with disabilities, and more. At the 2026 March for Life, JD Vance announced the policy, “Promoting Human Flourishing in Foreign Assistance”, which includes three federal rules applying to grants and contracts coming from the State Department. It operationalizes and expands the existing global gag rule to all foreign assistance, to new actors (including new governments), and with new definitions. It also applies to those promoting “gender ideology” and “discriminatory equity ideology” or engagement in “unlawful diversity, equity, and inclusion-related discrimination.” These rules are purposefully long and complicated to create less obvious legal challenges. This expansion lands on top of an already devastated global health landscape.Support the showFollow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfbFacebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.comRate and Review on Apple PodcastThanks for listening & keep fighting back!

An Administration of Violence and Its Tools of Authoritarianism

It has officially been one year since the beginning of the second Trump term. Almost immediately, the administration dismantled global public health, including sexual and reproductive health. Gender equity and LGBTQI+ health and rights, especially transgender health and rights, have been consistently attacked. Jessica Mason Pieklo sits down to talk with us about the administration’s recent strategies of authoritarianism, and what to continue to watch for. In January, the Supreme Court heard arguments to a case challenging Idaho’s and West Virginia’s ban on trans girls playing sports. At its core, the cases ask the legal question as to whether categorical sports bans based on gender identity violate the Equal Protection Clause and Title IX of the Civil Rights Act. With this month marking Roe v. Wade’s decision anniversary, fears continue to grow over access to mifepristone and telehealth. The concept of fetal personhood is being brought into legislative sessions all over the country, while birth control could be a new target. Support the showFollow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfbFacebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.comRate and Review on Apple PodcastThanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Overlapping Attacks: Gender Equality, SRHR, and LGBTQI+ Rights After Trump’s First Year Back

We are approximately one year into Trump 2.0, where the administration has dismantled the systems we have worked to build. Civil rights offices have been gutted, DEI programs paused or eliminated, data erased, and enforcement mechanisms present behind-the-scenes. Meanwhile, the decimation of USAID and the de-prioritization of global health have led to a radically different foreign policy architecture and the closure of health clinics, service disruption, and the shutdown of community organizations abroad. Gayatri Patel and Preston Mitchum, Senior Fellows with rePROs Fight Back, sit down to talk with us about attacks to LGBTQI+ rights and gender, and how these attacks intersect.Attacks on gender equality have been front and center, as evidenced by the early release and adoption of Project 2025. This is, of course, exacerbated by attacking DEI and inclusion. From the federal to the state level, all-out assaults on gender equality, transgender health and rights, and sexual and reproductive health and rights continues. Attacks on LGBTQI+ issues are insidiously persistent. This includes the restriction of access to gender affirming care, the banning of transgender people from school sports, and the stripping of inclusive terms from federal guidance. Black and brown LGBTQI+ people, especially those dealing with poverty, immigration systems, or disability, are disproportionately feeling the rollbacks in rights. Support the showFollow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfbFacebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.comRate and Review on Apple PodcastThanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Becca Rea-Tucker on Her New Book: The Abortion Companion

If you're planning to have an abortion soon or you had one in the past… if you’re feeling a strong emotion (or many of them) before or after receiving care… or if you are looking to support a friend, Becca Rea-Tucker’s (author, baker, and reproductive rights advocate) new book, The Abortion Companion: An Affirming Handbook for Your Choice and Your Journey, is a safe and supportive resource to do so. Becca wrote the Abortion Companion after her own abortion. Many pre-existing products for abortion contribute to stigma, but Becca’s book emphasizes that any feeling (including joy, sadness, relief, or a mix) is ok to feel. The book features self-compassion exercises, comfort tv and movie sections, conversation scripts, affirmations, and more. The book also offers a break from the day-to-day fight for abortion care, imagining a future where the world is unapologetically pro-abortion. For more information, check out Seriously?!: https://liftlouisiana.squarespace.com/seriously?offset=1551988440394 Support the showFollow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfbFacebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.comRate and Review on Apple PodcastThanks for listening & keep fighting back!

You May Also Like: White Picket Fence Season 6: America's Gender Whiplash

America is facing a gender backlash—a backlash so swift and severe, it feels more like a whiplash. Right now, no group is more at risk than trans Americans. On his first day back in the White House, Trump signed a controversial executive order meant to deny trans identity and push transgender people out of public life. Since then, attacks on trans rights—trans existence—have become increasingly hostile and widespread. But even as many conservatives work overtime to focus the public's ire on trans people, it's clear that their attempt to enforce a strict gender binary could have much broader consequences. Consequences that will reach all Americans.If you enjoy this drop, check out the season here. For more information, check out Seriously?!: https://liftlouisiana.squarespace.com/seriously?offset=1551988440394 Support the showFollow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfbFacebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.comRate and Review on Apple PodcastThanks for listening & keep fighting back!