3 ways Trump's second term could affect UK abortion rights
President Donald Trump is back in the White House and has wasted no time in carrying out his anti-abortion agenda. To end his first week, he once again reinforced the Hyde Amendment, which bans federal funds from being used to pay for abortions, and which former President Biden had reversed after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.
For his second executive order, Trump also reinstated the 'global gag rule', officially called the Mexico City Policy, that forbids US taxpayer dollars from funding foreign organisations that provide abortions. That includes the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which provides reproductive health services and education in over 150 countries (including conflict zones and humanitarian emergencies).
Trump reinstated this policy during his first term in 2017, with research estimating that between 2017 and 2021, this expansion resulted in approximately 108,000 maternal and child deaths and 360,000 new global HIV infections. While Biden rescinded the global gag rule, its re-expansion was outlined in Project 2025, Trump's initiative seeking to promote extreme right-wing policies.
Trump's actions have devastating consequences, but how do they affect the UK? MSI Reproductive Choices, an international charity working in 36 countries to provide contraception and safe abortion services, outlines three ways Trump's second term could have lasting repercussions for our abortion rights.
1. Emboldened anti-rights movement
Anti-choice groups all over the world have been emboldened by Trump's win, in the same way that they were galvanised by Roe v. Wade.
In fact, they increased their spend in the UK the year after Roe v. Wade was reversed. This includes money on misleading online ads and an increased online presence.
Some UK politicians are using anti-abortion messages despite 9 in 10 people in the UK being pro-choice.
2. Increased abortion misinformation
Online misinformation and harassment are on the rise, and anti-abortion, anti-gender equality and anti-LGBTQ+ content are all escalating on social media, while 'crisis pregnancy centres' are still unregulated. These are anti-abortion groups who run pregnancy centres and often present themselves as offering impartial advice when actually they are biased, coercive and unqualified. Crisis pregnancy centres are often modelled on and funded by anti-choice groups in the US.
3. Intensified abortion stigma
Increased stigma will leave people with the impression that they are judged for needing or choosing an abortion, despite a YouGov survey finding that 87% of people in the UK saying abortion should be allowed.
Abortion convictions in the UK are also on the rise – you can legally have an abortion up to 23 weeks and 6 days of pregnancy, in line with the Abortion Act 1967 – and Trump's restrictions may intensify the prosecutions of vulnerable women and girls.
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