Last month on Donald Trump’s first day in the Oval office, the President signed a ban on federal money going to groups that perform or provide information on abortions.
This law was initially created under President Ronald Reagan in 1984 and has been constantly seen a ping pong effect between Democrat and Republican governments. After Reagan, the law was revoked by President Bill Clinton when he took office in 1993. President George W Bush then reinstated it in 2001 only for President Barack Obama to lift it again in 2009 when he succeeded him.
With its most recent ban by Donald Trump, Norway and a number of other nations banding together to fill the $600 million cumulative budget shortfall.
“The government is increasing its support for family planning and safe abortion by 85 million Norwegian crowns ($10 million) compared with 2016,” Prime Minister Erna Solberg said in a statement. “At a time when this agenda has come under pressure, a joint effort is particularly important.”
The global fund began in January by The Netherlands and was soon joined by Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, Finland, Canada, Cape Verde and Norway.
Launching She Decides, Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Lilianne Ploumen said: “We need to compensate for this financial blow as much as possible with a broad-based funding, where governments, businesses and civil society organisations donate so that women can remain in control of their own bodies.”
The She Decides initiative has to date raised only $40m of the $600m that has been cut, but Ploumen has called on more countries to join the campaign.
Trump’s decision to sign the ban created uproar across the internet, where a photograph of the President in the Oval office went viral.
The photo was shared across the internet with comments highlighting the lack of women at the table.