In the year after the decision, socially conservative, evangelical Protestants who were anti-abortion mobilized to an unprecedented extent, and pro-life lawmakers introduced a number of measures designed to cut off access to abortions in the United States and elsewhere.
It has been interpreted by every administration since as an outright ban on funding abortions, including cases of rape, incest, and pregnancies that endanger the life of the mother.
An executive order first issued by Ronald Reagan, it prohibited spending foreign aid money on any non-governmental organizations that provide services relating to abortions.
[1] The amendment is supported by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and anti-abortion groups such as the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America[17] Several abortion-rights and human rights organizations, including Planned Parenthood,[2] the Global Justice Center,[citation needed] Population Action International,[18] the Center for Health and Gender Equity,[19] Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International USA pressured United States President Barack Obama to mitigate what they considered the harmful effects of the Helms Amendment.
[18] The Center for Health and Gender Equity worked with other human rights and faith-based organizations in calling on President Obama to take executive action on the Helms Amendment for women raped in conflict.
[1] Many reported abortions in foreign countries are being performed in unsafe ways by people without proper qualifications and in places that are not fit to medical standards.