President Bush Defunds UNFPA Again Over Forced Abortion in China

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Sep 19, 2005   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

President Bush Defunds UNFPA Again Over Forced Abortion in China Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 19, 2005

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — President Bush on Monday decided to revoke funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for a fourth time because of the international agency’s involvement in supporting China’s population control program that has included forced abortions.

According to the State Department and a leading Congressman who focuses in international efforts, the UNFPA continues to provide funding and technical support for China’s one-child birth policy.

China has come under fire from humanitarian groups for the programs, which also include imprisonment, forced sterilization, harassment and job pressures for violators and their families.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the Bush administration "remains firmly committed to women’s maternal and reproductive health. However, our support must always be provided in accordance with U.S. law."

"For that reason, the State Department notified Congress that the Kemp-Kasten Amendment is applicable again for 2005 funding for the United Nations Population Fund," McCormack said. "This decision means that this organization will not receive the $34 million earmarked for its activities by Congress for the current fiscal year."

The president first revoked funding for the pro-abortion agency in 2002 and has continued to call on UNFPA officials to end their involvement in China’s programs and to ask the Asian country to undertake new policies to curb human rights abuses.

Rep. Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican, praised the president for his actions, which include diverting the money to groups that stop the sexual trafficking of women, a condition that has resulted in China because of the gender imbalance created by the population control programs.

"Our President and our country are standing with the oppressed by refusing to cooperate with their oppressor," Smith explained.

"UNFPA is guilty of shamelessly supporting and whitewashing terrible crimes against humanity, and the United States will have no part in subsidizing them," Smith said.

"[The] United States provides hope to oppressed women everywhere with the promise that the United States will not subsidize those who engage in forced abortion and other coercive population control programs," Smith concluded.

Related web sites:
Representative Chris Smith – https://www.house.gov/chrissmith