DOS Foreign Assistance Award Restrictions — Abortion, Gender Ideology, and Equity Prohibitions in State Department Grants

Legal Authority

• 22 U.S.C. § 2651a — State Department Basic Authorities Act: general authority of the Secretary of State to manage State Department operations including foreign assistance programs
• 22 U.S.C. § 2151 et seq. — Foreign Assistance Act of 1961: authorizes U.S. bilateral foreign assistance programs and sets the statutory framework for foreign assistance grants and cooperative agreements administered by State and USAID
• 5 U.S.C. § 301 — Agency housekeeping authority: general basis for agency regulations governing internal procedures and grant conditions
• 2 CFR Parts 602, 603, 604 — State Department regulations implementing mandatory grant award terms for Mexico City Policy (Part 602), gender ideology prohibitions (Part 603), and equity ideology prohibitions (Part 604)

Key Mechanics

These restrictions operate through mandatory award terms — specific contractual language that must appear in every covered State Department grant and cooperative agreement. The restrictions apply both to direct recipients and to subrecipients. A waiver process exists for national security or foreign policy exceptions, requiring approval from the Secretary of State or the Under Secretary for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs, and Religious Freedom. The Mexico City Policy (Part 602) has been a recurring policy: Republican administrations impose it, Democratic administrations rescind it, and Republican administrations re-impose it; as of 2025, all three parts are in effect under the Trump administration.

Current Rule (2026)

What This Rule Does

The Department of State conditions its foreign assistance grants and cooperative agreements on compliance with three sets of behavioral restrictions. Each restriction is enforced through a mandatory award term — specific contract language that must appear in every covered State Department grant, cooperative agreement, and voluntary contribution involving foreign NGOs, international organizations, or U.S. NGOs.

Part 602 — Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance implements what is commonly called the Mexico City Policy. Recipients of State Department foreign assistance funds may not use those funds to perform or promote abortion as a method of family planning, or to provide financial support to foreign nongovernmental organizations that do so with any of their funds.

Part 603 — Combating Gender Ideology in Foreign Assistance prohibits recipients from using State Department foreign assistance funds to promote or provide gender ideology-related activities. Covered prohibited activities include providing or funding medical or social transition for minors or adults, lobbying foreign governments to adopt gender ideology positions, running public awareness campaigns promoting gender ideology, providing certain sex education materials that promote gender ideology, or hosting drag events.

Part 604 — Combating Discriminatory Equity Ideology in Foreign Assistance prohibits recipients from using State Department foreign assistance funds to promote discriminatory equity ideology — defined as treating people primarily as members of favored or disfavored groups based on race, color, sex, or other characteristics rather than as individuals. The rule also prohibits recipients from engaging in unlawful DEI-related discrimination (race, color, religion, or national origin discrimination under federal antidiscrimination law, as clarified by DOJ guidance issued July 29, 2025). Religious organizations' right to hire co-religionists for religious roles is explicitly preserved.

Key Provisions

• § 602.10 / § 603.10 / § 604.10 — Applicability: the award term must appear in all State Department foreign assistance solicitations and awards involving foreign NGOs, international organizations, or U.S. NGOs — as both prime recipients and subrecipients; the Department may also include the term in agreements with foreign governments, government-owned entities, or other government donors when appropriate
• § 602.20 / § 603.20 / § 604.20 — Award terms: each Part incorporates by reference the specific award terms found in Appendix A; the award terms define key terms, enumerate prohibited and permitted activities, establish First Amendment savings clauses for U.S. NGOs using non-federal funds outside the funded program, and authorize the Secretary of State (or Under Secretary for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs, and Religious Freedom) to grant national security or foreign policy waivers
• Part 602 definitions — "Abortion as a method of family planning" covers any abortion except when lawful and performed for rape or incest or to protect the woman's life or physical health; providing abortions includes performing procedures, supplying drugs or devices, paying for facilities; promoting abortions includes counseling that promotes it, referral or encouragement, lobbying foreign governments, public campaigns, and teaching sex education that promotes it; an individual's off-duty private actions do not count against an organization if it takes steps to prevent misrepresentation
• Part 603 definitions — "Gender ideology" means the idea that biological sex is replaced by a self-identified gender; "sex-rejecting procedure" covers medical or surgical treatments intended to make the body match a claimed gender identity (with listed medical exceptions); "social transition" covers non-medical steps such as name or pronoun changes, counseling, opposite-sex facility access, or sports participation; "female" and "male" are defined by reproductive system biology
• Part 604 definitions — "Discriminatory equity ideology" means treating people primarily as members of favored or disfavored groups; "unlawful DEI-related discrimination" refers to race, color, religion, or national origin discrimination violating federal law (per July 29, 2025 Attorney General guidance); the ministerial exception for religious employers hiring co-religionists (per Our Lady of Guadalupe v. Morrissey-Berru and Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC) is preserved
• Separate entity doctrine — Under all three Parts, the State Department will not treat legally separate entities as one recipient unless one entity controls the other or the separation exists to evade the restriction; recipients may ask their Agreement Officer in writing to treat specific activities as separate
• Subrecipient flowdown — All three award terms must be copied verbatim into subgrants and sub-cooperative agreements; pass-through entities bear responsibility for ensuring downstream subrecipients comply
• Local law conflicts — Recipients facing conflicts with local law may apply to State for an exemption
• Severability — If any part of an award term is found unconstitutional, the remainder stays in effect

How It Affects You

Foreign NGOs and international organizations receiving State Department grants or sub-awards are directly bound by all three award terms. You may not use State Department funds to perform, provide, or promote abortion as a method of family planning (Part 602); to provide or promote gender ideology-related programs or materials (Part 603); or to promote discriminatory equity ideology or engage in unlawful DEI-related discrimination (Part 604). These restrictions apply to activities funded with State Department money — not necessarily to your other programming funded from other sources.

U.S. NGOs are bound by the award terms when they receive State Department foreign assistance, but a savings clause protects your First Amendment rights: the award term must be interpreted to not restrict your speech or association when you use non-federal funds for activities outside the scope of the funded program. An organizational wall between the funded program and other activities reduces compliance risk.

Separate legal entity structures do not automatically insulate an organization from the award terms. If the State Department concludes that a separate entity exists to evade the restrictions, or that one entity controls another, it may treat them as a single recipient. Compliance officers at implementing organizations should assess organizational structures with this doctrine in mind.

Pass-through entities that receive State Department foreign assistance and make sub-awards to foreign NGOs, international organizations, or U.S. NGOs must include the verbatim award terms from all three applicable Parts in their subgrant agreements. Failure to flow down the award terms creates prime recipient liability.

Waiver authority rests with the Secretary of State or the Under Secretary for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs, and Religious Freedom. A national security or foreign policy justification is required. Waivers are not available to individual recipients — they must be obtained through State Department channels.

Statutory Authority

These rules implement:

• 22 U.S.C. § 2651a — Department of State Organization Act; provides the Secretary of State authority to manage the Department's programs and personnel
• 22 U.S.C. § 2151 — Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; authorizes State Department foreign assistance programs; Congress separately enacted Mexico City Policy-related restrictions in multiple annual appropriations acts, which Part 602 implements
• 5 U.S.C. § 301 — General federal agency housekeeping authority; authorizes agencies to issue internal regulations governing their programs and operations

Recent Rulemakings

Part 602 (Protecting Life) implements a longstanding policy that has been reinstated and rescinded across administrations (first enacted 1984, rescinded and reinstated with each change in administration). Parts 603 (Combating Gender Ideology) and 604 (Combating Discriminatory Equity Ideology) were created as new parts in 2025, establishing additional conditions on State Department foreign assistance that reflect the current administration's policy priorities.

Pending Action