gag rule
5
8.6
- noun
- /ɡæɡ ruːl/
- Formal
:
regla de silencio
- Under the new gag rule, employees are not allowed to express their opinions about policy changes in the workplace.
- the global gag rule
- abortion gag rule
- gag rule remains in effect
Examples
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Many activists are opposing the gag rule that silences critical debates about healthcare issues.
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The committee voted to implement a gag rule that would prevent members from discussing certain topics during meetings.
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Other clinics will close rather than submit to what they call "the gag rule."
Academic text (1991) -
That's why this medical gag rule is in there.
Blog text (5) -
No Bush, no return to the global gag rule on reproductive rights.
Blog text (17) -
AG seeks dismissal of 'gag rule' lawsuit
Blog text (5) -
Rodriguez had legal services draw up a notice to patients that the gag rule might interfere with his "duty and right to fully communicate vital information" to the patient and third parties, the suit says.
Blog text (5) -
The state attorney general on Tuesday sought the dismissal of a lawsuit against her that claims a medical "gag rule" in new natural gas legislation violates a Dallas doctor's constitutional right to communicate with his patients.
Blog text (5) -
Rodriguez's suit alleges the "gag rule" is too vague, too broad, and it violates health care practitioners' rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
Blog text (5) -
Romney has promised to reinstate the "global gag rule"—a ban on federal funds to foreign family planning organizations that either offer abortions or provide information or counseling.
Blog text (33)
Synonyms
A rule that stops discussion among lawmakers in a parliament
Antonyms
How Strict
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a rule that limits or prohibits discussion' is directly and transparently built from 'gag' (to suppress speech) + 'rule' (a regulation). This noun-compound/attributive pattern is straightforward and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Gag rule comes from the image of a gag, an object put in someone's mouth to stop them speaking, together with rule. So it means a law or order that 'silences' or 'stops discussion' on a topic.