By Admin 
Donald Trump has signed a new executive bill that is set to reinstate the ‘global gag rule’ on abortions – but what does it actually mean?
President Trump has been in the Oval Office for just a matter of days but he’s wasted no time getting his feet under the table.
Trump signed off on numerous executive orders – which included halting the ban of TikTok, changing laws on immigration, and declaring that there are ‘only two genders’ – a matter of hours upon his return to the White House.
Now, the president has signed off a new executive bill that is set to reinstate the ‘global gag rule’ on abortions, known as the ‘Mexico City policy’.
Donald Trump has signed off a number of executive orders in his first week (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
What is the Mexico City policy?
The new executive bill, known as the ‘Mexico City policy’, cuts off any aid provided by the US to any foreign organization that provides abortion services, counseling, or even advocacy.
So, essentially, a bunch of companies face a tough choice – either cease all abortion-related services, or they’ll lose assisted funding provided by the US.
In fact, organizations must now provide proof they will not use funding from any other source for abortion-related services, including that of non-US donors, if they want assistance from the US.
History of the Mexico City policy
The ‘Mexico City policy’ is often used by Republican presidents, having first been brought in by Ronald Reagan at a 1984 United Nations conference.
The policy has remained divisive for a number of years and has been yo-yo’d in and out of law – it tends to go that Republicans will sign it in, Democrats will revoke it.
The bill has even been dubbed the ‘global gag rule’ due to it restricting not just services but also speech, according to its harshest critics.
The bill has its critics (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
What impact does the Mexico City policy have in the real world?
The Guttmacher Institute, which looks into stats on abortion restrictions and their subsequent impact, states the policy can cut off access to contraception, while also leading women to go towards unsafe abortions.
Rebecca Hart Holder, who is the president of Reproductive Equity Now, said: “Reinstating the Mexico City policy will have deadly consequences for people across the globe.
“The United States is a vital partner to healthcare providers and organizations around the world, and robbing those frontline providers of their ability to provide the full spectrum of reproductive healthcare, and even information about people’s options, will result in people losing their lives to pregnancy complications.”
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Topics: Donald Trump, US News, Politics
Audio of a 999 phone call was released by Welsh police after a man was convicted of murdering his best friend.
On Christmas Eve 2023, Dylan Thomas stabbed his best friend and housemate William Bush 37 times.
Thomas has stayed with his grandmother the night before the ordeal, and was driven home by her on the day in question.
He’d told her he simply needed to check on his dog, but proceeded to murder Bush instead.
William Bush was stabbed 37 times by his friend on Christmas Eve 2023 (South Wales Police)
Thomas, who is the grandson to multimillionaire pie company tycoon Sir Stanley Thomas, went on to deny that he murdered Bush, 23, but pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
The young man was tried in November 2024, and a jury took just three hours to reach their verdict.
They found Thomas guilty of murder, and he was sentenced to a minimum term of 19 years behind bars on Friday (January 24).
During his trial last year, 999 audio from a call made by Thomas was played to the court.
Warning: distressing content
“I need an ambulance to my house,” he told the operator on the other end of the phone.
Meanwhile, a woman in distress was heard shouting ‘quickly, quickly’ in the background.
After sharing his address, the call handler asked if Bush was awake.
“No, no, he’s my friend,” replied Thomas.
He was then asked if Bush was breathing, to which he said: “No he’s not, he’s dead.”
In another audio clip that was played to the court, Thomas was heard telling the operator that his friend had ‘gone mental’ and he grabbed a knife because he was ‘scared for [his] life’.
“He’s gone mental, I stabbed him. I took the knife off him and it just happened really,” Thomas said.
Dylan Thomas was found guilty of murder last year (South Wales Police/PA Wire)
He went on to be asked by the operator where on Bush’s body he was injured, Wales Online reported.
“Everywhere on him, I kept going and stabbed him,” Thomas said. “I didn’t stop… He stabbed me on my hands, my hands to get the knife.”
Thomas later went on to claim he was suffering from an ‘abnormality of mind’ when he carried out the attack due to psychosis and schizophrenia.
But experts found that Thomas’ schizophrenia was unlikely to have prevented him from exercising self-control, which didn’t support the 24-year-old’s defense of diminished responsibility.
“I am satisfied that as a result of your schizophrenia, your ability to form a rational judgment was impaired, albeit not the substantial level required to establish the defence of diminished responsibility,” the judge said.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact GrieveWell on (734) 975-0238, or email info@grievewell.com.