At least nine of the Democratic presidential candidates would try to force Americans to pay for abortions in other countries if elected.
Though widely opposed by Americans, the radical pro-abortion position is being embraced by some of the top runners in the 2020 race, including U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, according to the National Catholic Register.
The pro-abortion news site Rewire identified nine who support the position: Warren, Sanders, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Andrew Yang, Marianne Williamson, former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, Julian Castro and Tom Steyer.
Each has said they oppose the Helms Amendment, a long-standing measure that prohibits U.S. foreign aid from funding or promoting abortions in other countries. The amendment has been in place since 1973, the year when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade.
Both it and the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer-funded elective abortions in Medicare, are key targets of the abortion industry. The Democratic Party platform calls for the end to these measures as well.
Taxpayer-funded abortions may be popular among the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, but they are not among the American people.
Tom McClusky, the president of March for Life Action, said it is “unusual for the candidates” to support such a widely-opposed position.
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“Most people generally have opposed taxpayer funding of abortions; they definitely oppose taxpayer funding of foreign abortions,” McClusky said.
Earlier this year, a poll by Marist University found that three-quarters (75 percent) of Americans oppose taxpayer funding of abortion abroad. Opposition to this funding includes most Republicans (94 percent), Independents (80 percent) and a majority of Democrats (56 percent). Similarly, a Politico/Harvard University poll found that just 36 percent of likely voters support taxpayer funding for abortions, while 58 percent oppose it.
Americans United for Life chief engagement officer Tom Shakely said the candidates are not representing the bipartisan majority on this issue.
“It has been the American consensus for nearly a half-century, and it’s a sign of the needless extremism of our time that some politicians believe that trashing the Helms Amendment and spending precious American tax dollars to promote abortion internationally makes any fiscal or ethical sense,” Shakely said.
Many foreign countries do not want money for abortions, either.
“It’s also really important for Americans to hear from the voices of people in those countries who want to push back on that kind of cultural colonialism of Western nations trying to impose this radical view of abortion on countries that really aren’t receptive to the idea in the first place,” Melanie Israel at the Heritage Foundation told the Register.
President Donald Trump took action to stop American taxpayers from funding abortions overseas. During his first week in office, he issued an executive order known as the Mexico City Policy to prohibit taxpayer funding to groups that promote and/or provide abortions overseas.
The move defunded the International Planned Parenthood Federation by about $100 million and Marie Stopes International, a British-based abortion chain, by about $73 million.
