“Real healthcare respects life,” said AUL’s Acting President Clarke Forsythe. “America’s international aid should affirm life, rather than export abortion.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. (01-23-17) – Following news of President Trump re-instituting the “Mexico City Policy,” Americans United for Life Acting President and Senior Counsel Clarke Forsythe issued the following statement:
“The example of America as a shining city on a hill, articulated so well by President Reagan, involved sharing a vision for life, hope, and a future. American taxpayers should be funding international aid that helps people better live their lives, not end the lives of their children, and not be forced to subsidize abortion around the world.”
Some background on the Mexico City Policy: It “provides that for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to be eligible to receive federal funding, they must agree not to perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations. The Policy was continued by President George H.W. Bush, rescinded by President Clinton in 1993, reinstated by President George W. Bush in 2001, and rescinded by President Barack Obama in 2009. Exceptions exist for abortions done in response to rape, incest, or threat to the mother’s life or health.”
The precise wording of the Policy is as follows:
“The United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959) calls for legal protection for children before birth as well as after birth In keeping with this obligation, the United States does not consider abortion an acceptable element of family planning programs and will no longer contribute to those of which it is a part. Accordingly, when dealing with nations that support abortion with funds not provided by the United States Government, the United States will contribute to such nations through segregated accounts that cannot be used for abortion.
“Moreover, the United States will no longer contribute to separate non-governmental organizations that perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations.”
For more on pro-life policies that can be enacted at the presidential level, click here.
