‘She Decides’: Dutch put millions into birth control fund

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The Dutch government announced Saturday it’s putting 10 million euros ($10.7 million) into an international fund it has launched to finance access to birth control, abortion and sex education for women in developing nations after President Donald Trump cut U.S. funding for such services.

Lilianne Ploumen, the minister for foreign trade and development co-operation, said she was making the initial contribution and launched the fund — “She Decides – Global Fundraising Initiative” — with a website .

Ploumen said she has received thousands of reactions — the vast majority of them positive — since announcing the fund Tuesday. That move came a day after Trump signed an executive memorandum reinstituting a ban on U.S. funding to international groups that perform abortions or even provide information about abortions.

The ban has been instituted by U.S. Republican administrations and rescinded by Democratic ones since 1984. President Barack Obama last lifted it in 2009.