The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops praised the
Trump administration’s efforts to tie U.S. aid to Pro-life policy on Thursday,
following the release of a report indicating widespread compliance with the
Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy.
The Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance rule is an
expanded version of the Mexico City Policy, which forbids the use of U.S.
federal funding for foreign non-governmental organizations that promote
abortions through counselling, referrals, or who work to expand abortion access
and legality.
“The Trump Administration deserves our praise for ensuring
that U.S. global health assistance funding actually promotes health and human
rights, and doesn’t undermine them by promoting abortion,” said Archbishop
Joseph Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, the chairman of the USCCB’s pro-life
committee.
“Killing innocent and defenceless unborn children through
abortion is not health care. Abortion violates an unborn child’s most basic
human right, the right to life, and it also can wound the mother emotionally
and physically. Americans recognize this injustice and an overwhelming majority
of them oppose giving tax dollars to organizations that are more committed to
promoting abortion than providing health services,” said Naumann in a statement
released by the U.S. bishops’ conference.
The report, released on August 18, found that 1,285 out of
1,340 foreign non-governmental organizations have complied with the expanded
policy, and that there has been no funding reduction and minimal disruption of
health services.
According to the report, in most of the cases where partners
refused to abide by the policy, an alternative health provider was found, or
foreign governments or donors stepped up to fill health care gaps.
The Mexico City Policy was established by the Reagan
administration and forbids funding of foreign non-governmental organizations
that provide or promote abortion. The Clinton and Obama administrations
rescinded the policy, while the administrations of George W. Bush and
Donald Trump reinstated the policy.
While the Helms Amendment forbids U.S. assistance from
directly paying for abortions, supporters of the Mexico City Policy say that it
provides an additional protection against pro-abortion groups accepting U.S.
aid in order to free up other resources internally for abortions.
Critics of the policy have referred to it as the “global gag
rule,” alleging that it forces non-profits to be silent on abortion as a method
of family planning.
The Trump administration expanded the policy to apply to
more than $8 billion in global health assistance across several federal
agencies, whereas it had previously only applied to $600 million in USAID
family planning assistance.
Culled from CNA news
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