Donald Trump has signed a new executive bill that is set to reinstate the ‘global gag rule’ on abortions – but what does it actually mean?
President Trump has been in the Oval Office for just a matter of days but he’s wasted no time getting his feet under the table.
Trump signed off on numerous executive orders – which included halting the ban of TikTok, changing laws on immigration, and declaring that there are ‘only two genders’ – a matter of hours upon his return to the White House.
Now, the president has signed off a new executive bill that is set to reinstate the ‘global gag rule’ on abortions, known as the ‘Mexico City policy’.
Donald Trump has signed off a number of executive orders in his first week (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
What is the Mexico City policy?
The new executive bill, known as the ‘Mexico City policy’, cuts off any aid provided by the US to any foreign organization that provides abortion services, counseling, or even advocacy.
So, essentially, a bunch of companies face a tough choice – either cease all abortion-related services, or they’ll lose assisted funding provided by the US.
In fact, organizations must now provide proof they will not use funding from any other source for abortion-related services, including that of non-US donors, if they want assistance from the US.
History of the Mexico City policy
The ‘Mexico City policy’ is often used by Republican presidents, having first been brought in by Ronald Reagan at a 1984 United Nations conference.
The policy has remained divisive for a number of years and has been yo-yo’d in and out of law – it tends to go that Republicans will sign it in, Democrats will revoke it.
The bill has even been dubbed the ‘global gag rule’ due to it restricting not just services but also speech, according to its harshest critics.
The bill has its critics (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
What impact does the Mexico City policy have in the real world?
The Guttmacher Institute, which looks into stats on abortion restrictions and their subsequent impact, states the policy can cut off access to contraception, while also leading women to go towards unsafe abortions.
Rebecca Hart Holder, who is the president of Reproductive Equity Now, said: “Reinstating the Mexico City policy will have deadly consequences for people across the globe.
“The United States is a vital partner to healthcare providers and organizations around the world, and robbing those frontline providers of their ability to provide the full spectrum of reproductive healthcare, and even information about people’s options, will result in people losing their lives to pregnancy complications.”
Audio of a 999 phone call was released by Welsh police after a man was convicted of murdering his best friend.
On Christmas Eve 2023, Dylan Thomas stabbed his best friend and housemate William Bush 37 times.
Thomas has stayed with his grandmother the night before the ordeal, and was driven home by her on the day in question.
He’d told her he simply needed to check on his dog, but proceeded to murder Bush instead.
William Bush was stabbed 37 times by his friend on Christmas Eve 2023 (South Wales Police)
Thomas, who is the grandson to multimillionaire pie company tycoon Sir Stanley Thomas, went on to deny that he murdered Bush, 23, but pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
The young man was tried in November 2024, and a jury took just three hours to reach their verdict.
They found Thomas guilty of murder, and he was sentenced to a minimum term of 19 years behind bars on Friday (January 24).
During his trial last year, 999 audio from a call made by Thomas was played to the court.
“I need an ambulance to my house,” he told the operator on the other end of the phone.
Meanwhile, a woman in distress was heard shouting ‘quickly, quickly’ in the background.
After sharing his address, the call handler asked if Bush was awake.
“No, no, he’s my friend,” replied Thomas.
He was then asked if Bush was breathing, to which he said: “No he’s not, he’s dead.”
In another audio clip that was played to the court, Thomas was heard telling the operator that his friend had ‘gone mental’ and he grabbed a knife because he was ‘scared for [his] life’.
“He’s gone mental, I stabbed him. I took the knife off him and it just happened really,” Thomas said.
Dylan Thomas was found guilty of murder last year (South Wales Police/PA Wire)
He went on to be asked by the operator where on Bush’s body he was injured, Wales Online reported.
“Everywhere on him, I kept going and stabbed him,” Thomas said. “I didn’t stop… He stabbed me on my hands, my hands to get the knife.”
Thomas later went on to claim he was suffering from an ‘abnormality of mind’ when he carried out the attack due to psychosis and schizophrenia.
But experts found that Thomas’ schizophrenia was unlikely to have prevented him from exercising self-control, which didn’t support the 24-year-old’s defense of diminished responsibility.
“I am satisfied that as a result of your schizophrenia, your ability to form a rational judgment was impaired, albeit not the substantial level required to establish the defence of diminished responsibility,” the judge said.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact GrieveWell on (734) 975-0238, or email info@grievewell.com.
The White House website states: “To fulfil those responsibilities, I intend to consult with my advisors, including the heads of relevant departments and agencies on the national security concerns posed by TikTok, and to pursue a resolution that protects national security while saving a platform used by 170 million Americans.
“My Administration must also review sensitive intelligence related to those concerns and evaluate the sufficiency of mitigation measures TikTok has taken to date.”
The ban has subsequently been paused ‘for a period of 75 days’ to allow Trump’s administration to ‘determine the appropriate course forward’.
Trump has paused the TikTok ban (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Official policy that there are ‘only two genders’
The order’s title reads: “Defending women from gender ideology extremism and restoring biological truth to the federal government.”
The policy recognizes ‘two sexes, male and female’ and states them as not being ‘changeable’ but ‘grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.
“Each agency and all Federal employees shall enforce laws governing sex-based rights, protections, opportunities, and accommodations to protect men and women as biologically distinct sexes.
“Agencies shall remove all statements, policies, regulations, forms, communications, or other internal and external messages that promote or otherwise inculcate gender ideology, and shall cease issuing such statements, policies, regulations, forms, communications or other messages. Agency forms that require an individual’s sex shall list male or female, and shall not request gender identity. Agencies shall take all necessary steps, as permitted by law, to end the Federal funding of gender ideology.”
The order states the US will only recognize ‘male’ and ‘female’ (CHIP SOMODEVILLA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
‘Restoring’ death penalty
The order accuses Biden’s government and judges who oppose capital punishment of ‘efforts to subvert and undermine capital punishment defy the laws of [the] nation, make a mockery of justice, and insult the victims of these horrible crimes’.
Trump’s order states: “The Government’s most solemn responsibility is to protect its citizens from abhorrent acts, and my Administration will not tolerate efforts to stymie and eviscerate the laws that authorize capital punishment against those who commit horrible acts of violence against American citizens.”
The policy adds: “It is the policy of the United States to ensure that the laws that authorize capital punishment are respected and faithfully implemented, and to counteract the politicians and judges who subvert the law by obstructing and preventing the execution of capital sentences.”
Trump’s order seeks to ‘restore’ the death penalty (Jeremy Hogan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
‘Ending radical and wasteful government diversity, equity and inclusion’ programs
The order states: “The Biden Administration forced illegal and immoral discrimination programs, going by the name ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (DEI), into virtually all aspects of the Federal Government, in areas ranging from airline safety to the military.
“[…] Pursuant to Executive Order 13985 and follow-on orders, nearly every Federal agency and entity submitted ‘Equity Action Plans’ to detail the ways that they have furthered DEIs infiltration of the Federal Government. The public release of these plans demonstrated immense public waste and shameful discrimination. That ends today.
“Americans deserve a government committed to serving every person with equal dignity and respect, and to expending precious taxpayer resources only on making America great.”
Trump’s administration also plans to scrap ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ programs (KEVIN LAMARQUE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Reversing 78 of Biden’s ‘harmful’ executive actions
The executive order accuses the previous administration of embedding ‘deeply unpopular, inflationary, illegal and radical practices within every agency and office of the Federal Government’.
It continues: “The injection of ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (DEI) into our institutions has corrupted them by replacing hard work, merit, and equality with a divisive and dangerous preferential hierarchy.
“Orders to open the borders have endangered the American people and dissolved Federal, State, and local resources that should be used to benefit the American people.
“Climate extremism has exploded inflation and overburdened businesses with regulation.”
The order accuses Biden’s administration of ‘radical practices’ (Mandel Ngan – Pool/Getty Images)
Pardoning Capitol Rioters
Under the section titled ‘Ending the Weaponization of the federal government,’ the White House’s page states: “The Department of Justice even jailed an individual for posting a political meme. And while the Department of Justice has ruthlessly prosecuted more than 1,500 individuals associated with January 6, and simultaneously dropped nearly all cases against BLM rioters. “
Trump accuses the past administration of ‘inflicting political pain’ rather than ‘pursuing actual justice or legitimate government objectives’ against Americans who ‘spoke out against previous administration’s actions and other Americans who were simply exercising constitutionally protected rights’.
The order links to a presidential action pardoning multiple individuals ‘convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, to time served as of January 20, 2025’ alongside granting ‘a full, complete or unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events’ on the same day too.
The White House’s website states: “This proclamation ends a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years and begins a process of national reconciliation.”
Free speech and federal censorship
The White House’s website states: “Enshrines the right of the American people to speak freely in the public square without Government interference.
“Over the last four years, the previous administration trampled free speech rights by censoring Americans’ speech on online platforms, often by exerting substantial coercive pressure on third parties, such as social media companies, to moderate, deplatform, or otherwise suppress speech that the Federal Government did not approve. Under the guise of combatting ‘misinformation,’ ‘disinformation,’ and ‘malinformation,’ the Federal Government infringed on the constitutionally protected speech rights of American citizens across the United States in a manner that advanced the Government’s preferred narrative about significant matters of public debate.
:Government censorship of speech is intolerable in a free society.”
The White House website says the first amendment ‘enshrines the right of the American people to speak freely in the public square without Government interference’ (John Keeble/Getty Images)
Blocking refugees
The order suspends the US Refugee Admissions Program ‘until such time as the further entry into the United States of refugees aligns with the interests of the United States’.
“The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security may jointly determine to admit aliens to the United States as refugees on a case-by-case basis, in their discretion, but only so long as they determine that the entry of such aliens as refugees is in the national interest and does not pose a threat to the security or welfare of the United States.” it says.
Limiting birthright citizenship
If a ‘person’s mother was unlawfully present in the US and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth’ or ‘when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States at the time of said person’s birth was lawful but temporary (such as, but not limited to, visiting the United States under the auspices of the Visa Waiver Program or visiting on a student, work, or tourist visa) and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth’ then the person is not ‘automatically’ given the ‘priceless and profound gift’ of ‘the United States citizenship‘.
The order is suspending the US Refugee Admissions Program (Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
‘Securing’ borders
The order states: “Over the last four years, the United States has endured a large-scale invasion at an unprecedented level. Millions of illegal aliens from nations and regions all around the world successfully entered the United States where they are now residing, including potential terrorists, foreign spies, members of cartels, gangs, and violent transnational criminal organizations, and other hostile actors with malicious intent.”
The order calls upon the Federal Government to ‘act with urgency and strength’ to secure the border and ‘protect the American people from the disastrous effects of unlawful mass migration and resettlement’ including constructing ‘temporary and permanent physical barriers’ and deploying personnel.
‘Protecting American people against invasion’
The order accuses Biden’s administration of letting ‘millions of illegal aliens’ cross the borders.
“Many of these aliens unlawfully within the United States present significant threats to national security and public safety, committing vile and heinous acts against innocent Americans. Others are engaged in hostile activities, including espionage, economic espionage, and preparations for terror-related activities.” it says.
“Many have abused the generosity of the American people, and their presence in the United States has cost taxpayers billions of dollars at the Federal, State, and local levels.
“Enforcing our Nation’s immigration laws is critically important to the national security and public safety of the United States. The American people deserve a Federal Government that puts their interests first and a Government that understands its sacred obligation to prioritize the safety, security, and financial and economic well-being of Americans.”
The order calls for the Federal government to ‘act with urgency and strength’ when it comes to securing borders (John Moore/Getty Images)
‘Protecting the US from foreign terrorists’
The order seeks to tighten the ‘visa-issuance process’ to ‘ensure that those aliens approved for admission into the US do not intend to harm Americans’ or the ‘national interests’.
“More importantly, the United States must identify them before their admission or entry into the United States.”
‘Protecting the territorial integrity’ of the US
The order states plans to ‘seal the borders and maintain the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security of the United States by repelling forms of invasion including unlawful mass migration, narcotics trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking, and other criminal activities’.
Cartels named as ‘foreign terrorist organizations’
The order states: “It is the policy of the United States to ensure the total elimination of these organizations’ presence in the United States and their ability to threaten the territory, safety, and security of the United States through their extraterritorial command-and-control structures, thereby protecting the American people and the territorial integrity of the United States.”
United States foreign aid
US foreign development assistance will be paused for 90 days and no assistance will be given until ascertained that its ‘fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the US’ and is ‘aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values’.
Trump’s administration plans to name drug cartels as ‘foreign terrorist organizations’ (CHIP SOMODEVILLA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
‘America first policy’
The order’s purpose and policy states: “From this day forward, the foreign policy of the United States shall champion core American interests and always put America and American citizens first.
“As soon as practicable, the Secretary of State shall issue guidance bringing the Department of State’s policies, programs, personnel, and operations in line with an America First foreign policy, which puts America and its interests first.”
‘Restoring accountability to policy-influencing positions’ in federal workforce
The White House’s website states: “Article II of the United States Constitution vests the President with the sole and exclusive authority over the executive branch, including the authority to manage the Federal workforce to ensure effective execution of Federal law.
“A critical aspect of this executive function is the responsibility to maintain professionalism and accountability within the civil service.
“This accountability is sorely lacking today. “
Punishing ‘election interference’
The order accuses ’51 former intelligence officials’ of coordinating with ‘the Biden campaign’ to ‘issue a letter discrediting the reporting that President Joseph R. Biden’s son had abandoned his laptop at a computer repair business’.
It then lists a number of individuals, revoking ‘any current or active clearances’ and reinforced anyone who holds ‘government-issued security clearances should not use their clearance status to influence US elections’.
One order accuses ’51 former intelligence officials’ of coordinating with the ‘Biden campaign’ (MELINA MARA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
US leaving the World Health Organization (WHO)
The order accuses who of ‘mishandling’ the COVID-19 pandemic alongside ‘other global health crises’.
The executive order continues: “The WHO continues to demand unfairly onerous payments from the United States, far out of proportion with other countries’ assessed payments.
“China, with a population of 1.4 billion, has 300 percent of the population of the United States, yet contributes nearly 90 percent less to the WHO.”
Withdrawing US from Paris climate agreement
The executive order argues the US has ended up involved in ‘international agreements and initiatives that do not reflect [the] country’s values or [its] contributions to the pursuit of economic and environmental objectives’.
“Moreover, these agreements steer American taxpayer dollars to countries that do not require, or merit, financial assistance in the interests of the American people,” it states.
Subsequently, it states its intentions for The United States Ambassador to the United Nations [to] immediately submit formal written notification of the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’.
Trump accused WHO of ‘mishandling’ Covid-19 (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
National energy emergency
The order accuses the ‘previous administration’ of having ‘driven [the] Nation into a national emergency, where a precariously inadequate and intermittent energy supply, and an increasingly unreliable grid,’ the US now ‘requi[ring] swift and decisive action’.
Assessments will look at transportation and infrastructure alongside endangered species and the nation’s energy supply and clean water act.
‘Unleashing American energy’
The order accuses ‘burdensome and ideologically motivated regulations’ of ‘imped[ing] the development of’ America’s ‘abundance of energy and natural resources’ and limiting ‘the generation of reliable and affordable electricity, reduced job creation, and inflicted high energy costs upon our citizens’.
“These high energy costs devastate American consumers by driving up the cost of transportation, heating, utilities, farming, and manufacturing, while weakening our national security,” it adds.
One order is about ‘restoring’ American ‘greatness’ (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
‘Department of Government Efficiency’
“This Executive Order establishes the Department of Government Efficiency to implement the President’s DOGE Agenda, by modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.”
‘Unleashing’ Alaska’s natural resources
The order plans to use Alaska’s ‘vast lands and resources’ for the benefit of the US, tapping into its ‘abundant’ supply of ‘energy, mineral, timber, and seafood’ to ‘raise the prosperity of our citizens while helping to enhance [the] Nation’s economic and national security for generations to come’ by creating ‘high-quality jobs’ and delivering ‘price relief’.
‘Restoring names that honor American greatness’
For example, the ‘renaming of Mount McKinley’ and the Gulf of America. The order states: “It is in the national interest to promote the extraordinary heritage of our Nation and ensure future generations of American citizens celebrate the legacy of our American heroes.
“The naming of our national treasures, including breathtaking natural wonders and historic works of art, should honor the contributions of visionary and patriotic Americans in our Nation’s rich past.”
One of the executive orders signed by Donald Trump in recent days will affect some people’s passports.
Trump has been making waves since making his momentous return to the White House earlier this week, and signed several executive orders pretty much as soon as he stepped foot into the Oval Office.
Some of the things his changes will affect is employment in the US, climate change, and immigration.
As per BBC News, Trump signed more than 200 orders on Monday (January 20). An executive order is a written order issued by the president to the federal government which does not require congressional approval, the news outlet explained.
One executive order the 78-year-old signed is one titled ‘Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government’.
One of the key changes the bill brings is the idea that there are only two genders (male and female). With this in mind, transgender women will no longer be housed in female prisons.
The order will also affect non-binary people’s passports.
A new order signed by President Trump will affect non-binary people’s passports (Getty Stock Images)
A 2021 survey found that 1.2 million Americans defined themselves as non-binary, and those who wished to put ‘X’ as their gender on their passports were able to do so under the Biden Administration.
The first X gender passport was issued in October 2021 — something which was hailed as a ‘momentous step’ at the time by diplomat Jessica Stern.
“The addition of a third gender marker propels the US forward toward ensuring that our administrative systems account for the diversity of gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics among US citizens,” she said, Sky News reported.
But now, X passport applications are being frozen by the US state department in the wake of Trump’s recently-signed executive order.
In an email obtained by The Guardian, Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently said to employees: “The policy of the United States is that an individual’s sex is not changeable.”
Marco Rubio has ordered that passport applications with ‘X’ gender markers are to be suspended (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
He went on to state that ‘sex, and not gender, shall be used’ on official documentations, including passports and consular report of birth abroad documents.
Staff were further ordered to ‘suspend any application requesting an X sex marker’ and ‘suspend any application where the applicant is seeking to change their sex marker’.
It’s believed the new policy affects both current and future passport applications.
As it stands, passports already issued with the X sex marker are still valid, but problems are likely to arise for those who need to update their travel documents in the near future.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT national hotline at 888-843-4564, available Monday to Friday 4pm-12am ET and 12pm-5pm ET on Saturdays.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s family have spoken out on Donald Trump’s decision to release the secret FBI files on arguably the world’s most infamous assassination.
President Trump has been in The White Office for only a matter of days, but he’s certainly wasted no time getting his feet under the table.
Trump signed off on numerous executive orders, which included halting the ban of TikTok, changing laws on immigration, and declaring that there are ‘only two genders’, a matter of hours upon his return to the Oval Office.
And on Thursday (January 23), Trump signed off an executive order that would see the files connected to the deaths of King, President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy declassified.
Donald Trump has signed off a number of executive orders this week (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Following the news, a statement has been released on behalf of King’s family.
They said: “Today, our family has learned that President Trump has ordered the declassification of the remaining records pertaining to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy, and our father, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“For us, the assassination of our father is a deeply personal family loss that we have endured over the last 56 years. We hope to be provided the opportunity to review the files as a family prior to its public release.”
On the evening of April 4, 1968, King was shot and killed by James Earl Ray as he stood on a second-floor balcony at a Memphis hotel.
While the assassination may have taken place nearly 60 years ago now, King’s family have continued to search for answers regarding his death.
Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968 (Bettmann via Getty Images)
Also impacted by Trump’s new order is JFK’s family, after the 47th US president announced plans to release classified files on the assassination of the 35th president.
In 1963, JFK was gunned down in broad daylight as he rode through Dallas, Texas, becoming the subject of numerous over the years.
Jack Schlossberg, the former president’s grandson, has since spoken out following Trump’s executive order.
Taking to Twitter, he wrote: “JFK conspiracy theories — The truth is a lot sadder than the myth — a tragedy that didn’t need to happen. Not part of an inevitable grand scheme.
“Declassification is using JFK as a political prop, when he’s not here to punch back. There’s nothing heroic about it.”
It’s certainly been an eventful first week in Trump’s second term as president!