Written by Grace Sargent
The Trump administration is moving to reclassify practices such as government-funded abortion, gender transition procedures for minors, and additional leftist policy measures as violations of human rights.
It’s no secret that the U.S. sets a global standard. The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (HRR) puts out a universal code of ethics that countries must follow to be in good standings with America. The administration’s new updates will significantly reshape that landscape— affecting countries’ access to U.S. funding, their ability to trade with America, their military cooperation, and even their international reputation.
According to the State Department, President Donald Trump and his administration plans to redefine and expand the annual HRR. These changes are nothing mild—they’re some of the biggest controversies that cause the deep divides between Democrats and Republicans.
Upon the release of the annual HRR, the following will be classified as human-rights violations by foreign governments:
- State-funded abortion or abortion drugs
- Affirmative action and diversity-based employment policies
- Gender transition procedures for minors
- Religious liberty violations
- Forced organ harvesting
- Government actions against free speech, including hate-speech laws or political arrests
- Policies allowing mass immigration into other countries
- Laws enabling assisted suicide/euthanasia
Officials say these changes are the results of recent ideological trends that have created new forms of human-rights abuse. This is a dramatic change from the previous administration, which focused on LGBTQ rights—a category that has been removed from the HRR entirely. The new changes will reflect free speech, religious freedom, and protections for children and the unborn.
The impact that these changes will make are vast. If countries refuse to comply with the U.S.’s code of human rights, they could experience reduced or restricted foreign aid, imposed asset freezes, banking restrictions, reduced diplomatic engagement, block cooperation in international organizations, limit military support, massive reputation damages, impose visa restrictions, and all kinds of other things that would put U.S.-dependent countries in a pickle.
A prime example of a country impacted by the disregard of the HRR is Russia when it imprisoned and poisoned political opponents and harsh crackdown on press and protest, earning them severe economic sanctions from the U.S. and Europe, massive reduction in foreign investment and economic isolation, and the removal from major international forums, like the Council of Europe. The world doesn’t mess around when you’re on America’s bad side.
The news of these updates serves as an encouragement to Christian conservatives, as it objectively defines the evils we’ve been fighting for so long as intolerable and wrong.
For many Christian conservatives, these updates signal a long-awaited course correction—one that recognizes and condemns practices they view as harmful, immoral, or antithetical to human dignity. By redefining what the U.S. considers a violation of human rights, the administration is not only reshaping global expectations but also reaffirming America’s commitment to protecting life, preserving religious freedom, and defending the most vulnerable.
