Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance Act
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMs. Foxx (for herself, Mrs. Miller of Illinois, Mr. Smith …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The "Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance Act" prohibits federal funds from being used outside the United States to support organizations that perform, promote, or provide financial support for abortion services. It expands existing foreign aid restrictions to also cover domestic organizations receiving federal funds for overseas work, requiring them to maintain complete physical and financial separation from any abortion-related activities.
Who Benefits and How
Anti-abortion advocacy organizations and pro-life international development groups benefit by gaining a stronger competitive position for federal foreign assistance contracts and grants, as organizations providing comprehensive reproductive health services would be excluded from eligibility. Conservative religious organizations engaged in foreign aid may see increased funding opportunities as their competitors are disqualified.
Who Bears the Burden and How
International reproductive health organizations like Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Marie Stopes International, and similar groups would lose access to all U.S. federal foreign assistance funding, even for non-abortion-related programs. Domestic nonprofits providing foreign aid with integrated reproductive health services must either completely separate their operations or lose federal funding. Women in developing countries may face reduced access to comprehensive healthcare services as organizations lose funding and capacity.
Key Provisions
- Prohibits federal funds from going to foreign nonprofit, nongovernmental, multilateral, or quasi-autonomous nongovernmental organizations that perform abortions, promote abortions (including referrals, counseling, lobbying, and training), develop abortion-related items, or financially support entities that do
- Extends restrictions to domestic nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations receiving federal funds for overseas purposes, requiring them to maintain complete physical and financial separation from abortion-related activities
- Applies the ban to organizations that financially support any entity engaged in restricted abortion activities, creating a broad chain of accountability
- Includes exceptions for abortions resulting from rape or incest, or when the mother's life is endangered
- Covers not just direct funding but also transfer of goods financed with federal funds
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Restricts federal funds from being made available outside the United States to foreign and domestic organizations that perform, promote, or financially support abortion-related activities
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Expand restrictions on foreign assistance funding to prevent indirect funding of abortion services through domestic organizations, requiring complete physical and financial separation for any organization receiving federal funds"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Anti-abortion advocacy groups
- Pro-life international development organizations
- Conservative religious organizations engaged in foreign aid
Likely Burden Bearers
- International reproductive health organizations (e.g., Planned Parenthood, Marie Stopes International)
- Domestic nonprofits providing foreign assistance with integrated reproductive health services
- Women's health organizations operating internationally
- Multilateral health organizations with comprehensive reproductive health programs
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Foreign nonprofit, nongovernmental, multilateral, or quasi-autonomous nongovernmental organizations that perform/promote abortions, furnish abortion-related items, or provide financial support to entities engaged in these activities
Domestic nonprofit or nongovernmental organizations that perform abortions, furnish abortion-related items, promote abortions within federally-funded programs without complete physical and financial separation, or provide financial support to restricted entities
Includes transfer of Federal funds and goods financed with such funds
Prohibitions do not apply to abortions resulting from rape or incest, or when the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology