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Refusing to Fund Forced Abortions is Controversial? 7/27/2004 There is courage in standing for the preservation of innocent life.
Congress had appropriated $34 million to the UNFPA for this fiscal year, and Secretary of State Colin Powell informed Congress that the funding again would be barred. The refusal of funding for UNFPA is in adherence to the 19-year-old Kemp-Kasten law, which prohibits the United States from providing taxpayer money to any agency that engages in "coercive population control policies." During his first days in office, President Bush enforced this law that was originally signed by President Reagan and then ignored by President Clinton.
Concerned Women for America (CWA) has been proactive in educating Congress on the reasons to provide zero funding to the UNFPA. In 2003, CWA hosted a large lobbying effort that mobilized over one hundred people to assist in educating Congress on the harms of UNFPA funding.
In China, there is a "one child" policy that essentially forces women to abort babies if the pregnancy is not pre-approved. In a government attempt to control population growth, couples may be allowed to have one child through an approval process. A few exceptions are made for parents in specific geographic and ethnic categories.
However, once a couple has reached the one, pre-approved child quota, China's birth limitation policy is enforced through coercive measures. If parents do not limit their family to the one child, they may face fines ranging from one-half to ten times the average worker's annual disposable income, threat of job loss or demotion, or destruction of property. In response to these threatened penalties, women are compelled to abort their second child or undergo involuntary sterilization.
Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) applauded the decision by the Bush administration, stating that the UNFPA "continues to be guilty of shamelessly supporting and whitewashing terrible crimes against humanity." With the administration's action, the United States will continue not to be a part of such "shameless support."
Opponents argue that the administration's withholding of the funds from UNFPA hurts efforts to reduce deaths and abortions around the world. However, Powell clearly said that the $34 million would be used to support women and children through other programs that do not support abortion techniques.
Wendy Wright, Senior Policy Director of CWA, observed that, "To manipulate the public, UNFPA fabricates the numbers of people who would be harmed without its services. A recent UN audit found that 75% of UNFPA programs studied were unsuccessful and of those 25% were failures. Women around the world will be far safer if the U.S. spends its money directly for maternal and child survival programs instead of filtering it through UNFPA's corrupt hands."
Powell further stated that the United States may provide funding to UNFPA in the future if circumstances change. Currently UNFPA is involved in family planning programs in 32 counties in China. These counties continue to impose so-called "social compensation fees" (fines), pressuring women to have abortions. If China ends its practices of coerced abortion or the UNFPA stops its work in China, then the administration will consider American funding.
Opponents in Congress and UNFPA wrongly contend that this withholding of funds is simply a political move. Rather, the Bush administration is upholding a 19-year-old law and protecting the human lives that women are being forced to kill through China's policies. This is a courageous stand in the worldwide battle over the preservation of innocent life. |
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