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Demonstration of the Pro-Choice movement for an end to the Global Gag Rule (in Washington 2017)
Photo: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
A woman in severe pain drags herself past the reception of the small clinic, barely able to speak.
A doctor immediately lets you through to a treatment room.
Long waiting times are not to be feared here anyway, since Donald Trump took office in January 2017, hardly any patients have come to the treatment center in one of the poorest districts of the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
Financing gone - from one day to the next
The reason is the so-called Global Gag Rule, a regulation first issued by Ronald Reagan in 1984.
Since then, it has always been overturned by Democratic presidents and reintroduced by Republican presidents - including Trump in 2017.
The Global Gag Rule states: Foreign organizations that receive money even indirectly from the US budget are not allowed to offer advice on abortion.
Donald Trump has even expanded this regulation, it applies to the entire health sector.
In other words, if you continue to talk to clients about the subject of abortion, you will no longer receive US funding.
As a result, the Reproductive Health Network Kenya (RHNK) lost all funding from one day to the next in 2017.
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Waiting area in the clinic of the Reproductive Health Network Kenya (RHNK) in Nairobi
Photo: Heiner Hoffmann / DER SPIEGEL
With more than 587 partners throughout Kenya, the RHNK advises women and girls on contraception, HIV and - if Kenyan law allows - abortions.
To this end, thousands of volunteers are out and about, mainly in poor communities, to visit those affected on site, free of charge and anonymously.
Most of these offers broke away with the Global Gag Rule.
This happened to numerous organizations in Africa, because the US government was previously the main donor in the health sector.
SPIEGEL:
According to media reports, President Biden plans to abolish the global gag rule on Thursday.
What does that mean for you?
Nelly Munyasia:
We were incredibly happy about this news.
I hope that this rule is off the table once and for all.
So far it has been introduced repeatedly by Republican presidents, then abolished by Democrats.
These political decisions have huge implications for us.
Most of our money came from government-funded organizations in the United States, such as Planned Parenthood.
In any case, we look forward to being able to resume our work soon.
We have already informed all of our partners in a circular.
Now all you have to do is get the money and you can start right away.
SPIEGEL:
What has stood still in the past four years under Trump?
Munyasia
: Almost everything.
We had to lay off staff, could no longer go to the parishes and give free advice to women and girls.
We could only continue to operate our clinic here, but the patients have to pay for it.
Of course there are far fewer women.
As a result, we were no longer able to offer advice on family planning, HIV and cancer.
Some of our partner organizations stopped talking to clients about abortions - because they wanted to keep getting money.
That is fatal.
Such a buckling was out of the question for us.
"Black Lives Don't Matter, especially under Trump"
Nelly Munyasia, Director of the Reproductive Health Network Kenya
SPIEGEL:
What traces has the Global Gag Rule left, especially in the poorer communities?
Munyasia
: Many women and girls no longer had access to adequate advice and information.
The number of teenage pregnancies exploded, especially during the corona pandemic.
In Kenya, an average of seven women a day die from unsafe abortions, for example from self-appointed healers in slums or from horrific methods they use on themselves.
Dead fetuses have repeatedly been found on the river banks in recent months.
After all, we set up an advice hotline and heard really bad stories.
One girl was raped by a close family member.
We were then able to advise her on the phone and finally enabled her to safely terminate the pregnancy.
But we haven't been able to reach so many others in the past four years.
SPIEGEL:
There is an ideologically charged debate going on in the US about the Global Gag Rule, with Republican presidents sending a message to their conservative supporters.
On the back of Africa?
Munyasia
: Let's put it this way: the politicians who make these rules deliberately
block out the local
reality.
They believe that they are protecting life in Africa, but the opposite is the case.
Americans think they know what is best for Africa.
But the Global Gag Rule in particular has shown: Black Lives Don´t Matter, especially under Trump.
SPIEGEL:
If Biden overturns the rule, as announced, and the funds flow again - will everything be good for your organization again?
Munyasia
: One problem remains: Under Trump,
anti-abortion opponents
became stronger and stronger, also thanks to financial support.
They organized poster campaigns here in Kenya, they even protested in front of our facilities and intimidated women.
I fear that we will have to struggle with these strengthened groups for a while.
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