Sheryl Sandberg blasts Trump’s revival of ban on abortion funding

Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg is blasting President Trump’s decision to revive a ban on foreign aid to overseas health providers who give abortion counseling or provide abortions.

Sandberg took to Facebook Thursday evening to share an article from The New York Times about her support for the Global Health Empowerment and Rights Act, saying the reinstated ban “could have terrible consequences for women and families around the world.”

“I started my career working at the World Bank on health care in India. I saw firsthand how clinics funded by foreign aid are often the only source of health care for women. When women are given even the most basic health care information and services, they live longer, healthier lives — and they give birth to children who live longer, healthier lives,” she wrote.

Sandberg said the work of “comprehensive family planning” to “prevent unintended pregnancies, deaths and abortions” will become much harder with Trump’s executive order.

{mosads}On Monday, Trump signed an executive order to reinstate the Reagan-era policy, referred to by critics as the “global gag rule,” that would block federal funding for international family planning charities that provide abortions or promote abortion rights.

“We don’t have to guess — we know what this will do,” Sandberg wrote on Facebook. “The last time the global gag rule was in effect, research showed more women who lost access to contraception had unwanted pregnancies and abortion rates doubled. The best way to prevent abortion is through more family planning services, not fewer.”

Democratic senators are already moving to try to permanently repeal the policy, though they face an uphill battle in the GOP-controlled chamber.

Led by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), a group of 47 senators introduced legislation Wednesday to prohibit Trump’s administration from using “certain restrictive eligibility requirements” to prevent nongovernmental organizations from getting funds.

“President Trump’s executive order to reinstate the Global Gag Rule is extremely short sighted and shows his willingness to ignore decades of research in favor of ideological politics,” Shaheen said.