Biden’s budget is poised to fund abortion advocacy around the world

When President BidenJoe BidenBiden prepares to confront Putin The Ukrainian President thanks the G7 countries for the declaration of support Biden wants to strengthen the troubled relations with Turkey at the first meeting with Erdoğan MORE M recently sent its budget proposal to Congress, it was both a political statement by the administration and a spending plan for the next fiscal year. His priority in abortion is clear without mentioning the word.

Experts were quick to point out his proposed abolition of the Hyde Amendment, a move that would break with the decades-long bipartisan agreement and force taxpayers to pay for voluntary abortions here in the United States.

But it is easy to overlook other points that could conflict with a legal provision that prohibits the US from advocating for or against abortion internationally. This congressional mandate means that the US will remain neutral in its foreign aid to abortion, leaving such decisions to individual countries according to their own national priorities and values. And most Americans agree, regardless of their political party or general beliefs about abortion. According to a recent poll, “more than three in four Americans are against using taxpayers’ money to support abortions in other countries.”

In the Trump administration, we signed the Geneva Consensus Declaration with 34 other countries, which stated that it is the right of every nation to legislate for abortion and the protection of life without external pressure. I led these efforts on behalf of the government and nations often expressed gratitude for affirming their sovereignty and our neutrality.

But Biden’s budget calls for blanket funding for two international organizations that advocate abortion – a clear violation of international abortion neutrality.

The first is the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which was not funded under the Trump administration due to persistent concerns that they are sponsoring forced abortions and involuntary sterilizations in China.

In addition to this worrying activity, however, there is a wider concern about the UNFPA. Although their website states that they do not promote abortion, UNFPA agrees that “all governments should remove abortion from their criminal law” and accuses countries of restricting abortion and accusing them of violating human rights. The organization recently released a report analyzing countries to see if they have laws “guaranteeing access to universal ‘maternity care”, which they ridiculously define as liberal access to abortion. UNFPA stresses that “access to safe abortion is essential for sexual and reproductive health and rights” starting from the age of 10. The President’s budget is US $ 56,000,000 for UNFPA.

The second international organization is the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), whose mission is to “work for the protection of all human rights for all people”. If the OHCHR worked within its original mandate it would serve an incredibly valuable purpose, but too often it uses its influence in contract oversight to lobby and instruct participating nations to liberalize their abortion laws. For years, OHCHR made abortion advocacy a priority, but current High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet accelerated that effort. She was President of Chile and was responsible for liberalizing the country’s abortion laws. The OHCHR warns that “denial of access to abortion has been identified as a form of gender-based violence against women that can result in torture and / or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment”. The President’s budget is $ 14,500,000 in funds for OHCHR.

Since at least the 1990s, UNFPA and OHCHR have deviated from their original mandates and developed a long-term strategic plan to falsely claim abortion as a new international human right. This incremental strategy has been methodically implemented since then, so it is not surprising that they are now declaring abortion restrictions as a violation of human rights.

The Biden government has a responsibility to stay within the legal mandate of international abortion neutrality, and it begins by ensuring that US funding from international organizations like UNFPA and OHCHR is not used to advocate abortion. The US can support international development and the protection of human rights by holding these UN agencies responsible for keeping their original mandates. Congress must exercise its authority to ensure that both are achieved.

Valerie Huber was the US special envoy for global women’s health at the US Department of Health in the Trump administration.