Republican lawmakers introduced a pro-life bill Tuesday to ban taxpayer funding to a United Nations agency linked to forced abortions in China.
National Review reports U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, a Texas Republican, is the lead sponsor of the No Taxpayer Funding for the United Nations Population Fund Act. About 40 other House Republicans joined him in supporting the pro-life legislation.
The UN agency, referred to as UNFPA, promotes abortions across the world and historically has received massive amounts of money from the U.S. It also has been linked to the Chinese Communist Party’s oppressive population control measures, which include forced abortions, forced sterilizations and limits on the number of children families can have.
“American tax dollars should never directly or indirectly support taking of innocent human life through abortion or the dehumanizing act of involuntary sterilization, and they certainly shouldn’t be used to support the oppressive, America-hating Chinese Communist Party in any way whatsoever,” Roy told the news outlet.
In 2017, the Trump administration defunded UNFPA, pointing to its connection to China’s One Child Policy and other oppressive population control measures.
However, President Joe Biden reversed the decision during his first month in office. Then, last week, he introduced a budget plan that includes millions of tax dollars for the pro-abortion agency.
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Roy’s bill would create a permanent ban on taxpayer funding to UNFPA. According to the report, it would prohibit the U.S. Department of State and other federal agencies from giving money to the pro-abortion agency “directly or indirectly.”
Leading pro-life organizations support the legislation, including the Heritage Foundation, Students for Life, March for Life, Susan B. Anthony List and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the report states.
“The United States should support human rights, not fund international groups complicit in their violation,” said Thomas McClusky, president of March for Life Action, in response to the bill.
A recent Marist poll found strong public opposition to taxpayer funding for abortions in the U.S. and abroad. According to the poll, 77 percent of Americans oppose using tax dollars to promote abortion overseas, and 58 percent oppose using tax dollars to fund abortions in the United States.
Starting 2017, the Trump administration cut off funding to UNFPA, because it said the agency “partners on family planning activities with the Chinese government agency responsible for … coercive policies,” such as forced abortions and forced sterilizations.
“This determination was made based on the fact that China’s family planning policies still involve the use of coercive abortion and involuntary sterilization, and UNFPA partners on family planning activities with the Chinese government agency responsible for these coercive policies,” the state department said at the time.
The Trump administration said it redirected the funds – at least $32.5 million in 2017 alone – to the U.S. Agency for International Development, which provides medical care to families across the world.
UNFPA denies its involvement in forced and coerced abortions and sterilizations in China. In a statement, the UN agency said it “promotes the human rights of individuals and couples to make their own decisions, free of coercion or discrimination.”
Previous pro-life presidents also cut off funding to the UN agency, while pro-abortion presidents, including Barack Obama, restored the funding.
On the campaign trail, Biden promised to restore funding to the United Nations Population Fund. Then, in December, pro-abortion groups that backed his campaign released a list of “first priorities” for his administration, including $111 million for the pro-abortion agency.
