Congress funds maternal health globally—but bans abortion services
H.R. 6765 — Safe Passages Act of 2025 · Filed by Chris Smith (R-NJ) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Dec 16, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill establishes a $400 million annual global health program focused on reducing maternal and child mortality in low-income countries by training local health workers and equipping clinics with obstetric care tools and training. The program prioritizes faith-based providers, emphasizes natural family planning methods, and explicitly excludes abortion services, while requiring biennial reporting to Congress on lives saved and program effectiveness.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a $400 million annual appropriation to fund maternal and child health training and equipment in low-income countries. While framed around a specific 'Safe Passages' model, the operative text is a straightforward foreign aid authorization with explicit policy constraints (abortion exclusion, natural family planning emphasis).
What the text implies
- The bill's emphasis on 'natural family planning' and explicit abortion exclusion may reduce access to comprehensive reproductive health services in recipient countries, potentially limiting women's autonomy in family planning decisions despite the stated goal of improving maternal health.
- The $400 million annual commitment through 2030 ($2 billion total) represents a significant reallocation within the Global Health Programs account; the bill does not specify whether this is new funding or redirected from existing maternal health programs, creating potential for displacement of other health priorities.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
faith-based health organizations; international NGOs specializing in maternal health; medical equipment suppliers