Article snippet: President Trump last month signed an executive order barring American aid to international organizations that discuss abortion as a family-planning option with clients. American law already forbids the use of taxpayer money to fund the procedure itself. In Europe, the president’s order brought an unexpected response. Lilianne Ploumen, 54, minister of foreign trade and development cooperation in the Netherlands, established a nongovernmental organization, She Decides, to raise money for aid groups whose funding is threatened under the new order. The Dutch ministry announced a donation of 10 million euros to She Decides, and Belgium and Denmark followed with matching grants. In March, representatives of 19 governments will convene in Brussels to see what else they can do to make up for the shortfall in American funding. I spoke with Ms. Ploumen by Skype last week. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity and space. Q. What was your reaction when you heard about President Trump’s order? A. Well, of course, I was very disappointed and a little bit shocked because, you know, this is 2017. You would have expected that in 2017 the rights of women and girls to be the masters of their own bodies and their own sexual lives would be something matter-of-fact. Did you think, “What can I do to counter this?” Yes. And if you’re a minister of foreign trade and development cooperation, one of the good things is that you can do something. That’s why I came up w... Link to the full article to read more