On Monday, 23 February 2026, Tom Meinderts (Sciences Po-Paris) will be the speaker for the next session of the European Forum on US History.
Title: The Mexico City Policy: From Family Planning to Family Values
Speaker: Tom Meinderts
Date: Monday, 23 February, from 17:00 to 18:30 CET
Host:Mario Del Pero (Sciences Po-Paris)
Location: Online
Please register here.
Tom Meinderts is a PhD Candidate at Sciences Po, Paris and a lecturer at PPLE College, University of Amsterdam. His research investigates the confluence of American domestic politics and foreign policy in contemporary international history.
In 1984, the Reagan Administration announced the creation of the Mexico City Policy. Also known as the Global Gag Rule, the policy bars US funding from being used by NGOs that ‘perform or promote’ abortions. Since its enactment, it has been rescinded by every Democratic Administration and reinstated by every Republican Administration. My research analyses how one of the most partisan policies in American foreign relations was created and contested and it investigates the longer history of how the US shifted away from championing international family planning to advocating for family values.
See the full invitation here.
