State Department unclassified briefing memorandum, dated February 11, 2003, from Arthur E. Dewey to Secretary Powell

SUBJECT: Your Meeting with the President regarding the Mexico City Policy and U.S. funding for AIDS assistance

The White House will discuss plans to extend the Mexico City Policy to cover all U.S. funding through DOS and USAID for "reproductive health" programs. The first option would be to continue the status quo and have the Mexico City policy (MCP) apply only to USAID "family planning" programs. The second option, which we expect the White House to favor, would expand in some manner the Mexico City policy.

The expanded Mexico City policy would cover funds expended for HIV/AIDS assistance and family planning assistance as well as, presumably, other components of reproductive health assistance, such as those aimed at preventing and treating sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and gender-based violence, maternal mortality and morbidity, and providing reproductive health education. All foreign NGOs would be required to certify, as a condition of receiving U.S. funds for reproductive health, that they neither perform nor promote abortion as a method of family planning. There would be two exceptions:

• Foreign NGOs that either perform or counsel abortions that also implement discrete HIV/AIDS projects would be eligible for funding these projects.
• Foreign NGOs not otherwise compliant that merely serve as a pass-through to a sub-contractor that is compliant with the Mexico City Policy would be eligible.

Hill conservatives will not support a policy that provides carve out for HIV/AIDS projects performed by foreign NGOs who also perform abortions or support abortion policies. Moderate and liberal members of both sides of the aisle will support such a carve out. A final decision on this issue before conclusion of the FY 2003 Omnibus Appropriations Bill (H.J. Res. 2) could cause a delay in final passage. Similarly, we would also expect such an initiative to generate great controversy and likely cause a major delay in consideration of the FY 2004 Foreign Operations Bill.

Recommendation

• That you accept the expansion of Mexico City to all reproductive health programs funded by DOS and USAID.
• That you accept the foreign NGO certifications required by the Mexico City Policy, including the two exceptions to certification.
• While no expansion of Mexico City requirement is currently envisaged for International Organizations working with HIV/AIDS or reproductive health (such as UN organizations and the Global Fund for AIDS), you should oppose any attempt to make such an extension.