Memorandum on Mexico City Policy and Assistance for Voluntary Population Planning
Issued 2009-01-23 by Barack Obama
Plain-English Overview
AI-generated summary explaining what this action does, who it affects, and why it matters
President Obama rescinded a policy known as the "Mexico City Policy" that had restricted how the U.S. provides foreign aid for family planning programs. The policy, originally announced by President Reagan in 1984, directed the U.S. Agency for International Development to withhold funds from non-governmental organizations that used their own (non-U.S.) money for activities like providing information about abortion or lobbying foreign governments on abortion laws. This policy had been in effect from 1985 to 1993, then reinstated by President George W. Bush in 2001 and expanded to include State Department assistance.
The memorandum directed the Secretary of State and USAID Administrator to immediately waive these conditions on current grants and stop imposing them on future grants. Obama stated that these restrictions were "excessively broad" and "unwarrned," and had "undermined efforts to promote safe and effective voluntary family planning programs in foreign nations." Federal law already prohibited using U.S. funds directly for abortions as a method of family planning, but the Mexico City Policy had gone further by restricting what organizations could do with their own money.
This action affects non-governmental organizations abroad that receive U.S. assistance for voluntary family planning programs. By lifting these additional restrictions, these organizations could once again engage in abortion-related counseling or advocacy using their own funds while still receiving U.S. aid for other family planning services.
AI-generated summary for educational purposes
Constitutional Analysis
How this action fits (or doesn't) within Article II authority and existing law
This memorandum ("Memorandum on Mexico City Policy and Assistance for Voluntary Population Planning") directs the withholding, freezing, or delayed spending of congressionally appropriated funds. The stated rationale: "safe and effective voluntary family planning programs in foreign nations." The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifically prohibits this type of action. Congress passed that law in response to President Nixon's refusal to spend appropriated funds, and it remains the governing framework today.
The power of the purse belongs to Congress under Article I, Section 9. When money is appropriated by law, the executive branch is obligated to spend it as directed. A memorandum directing agencies to withhold, pause, or slow-walk spending conflicts with this constitutional structure. Courts have consistently sided with Congress in impoundment disputes.
Official Summary
Administration of Barack H. Obama, 2009 Memorandum on Mexico City Policy and Assistance for Voluntary Population Planning January 23, 2009 Memorandum for the Secretary of State [and] the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development Subject: Mexico City Policy and Assistance for Voluntary Population Planning The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151b(f)(1)), prohibits nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that receive Federal funds from using those funds "to pay for the performance of abortions as a method of family planning, or to motivate or coerce any person to practice abortions." The August 1984 announcement by President Reagan of what has become known as the "Mexico City Policy" directed the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to expand this limitation and withhold USAID funds from NGOs that use non-USAID funds to engage in a wide range of activities, including providing advice, counseling, or information regarding abortion, or lobbying a foreign government to legalize or make abortion available. The Mexico City Policy was in effect from 1985 until 1993, when it was rescinded by Pre