Biden win seen as green light for women's reproductive rights

Demonstrators protest with placards against Poland's near-total ban on abortion during a demonstration in Berlin on November 7, 2020. Photo: AFP

Democrat Joe Biden as U.S. president will bring sweeping changes to women's reproductive rights globally, starting with overturning a U.S. policy banning government-funded aid groups from mentioning abortion, according to campaign groups.

The so-called global gag rule has been imposed by Republican presidents since 1984 via executive order, often forcing the closure of U.S.-funded health clinics that refuse to accept the restriction, and revoked by Democratic presidents.