UNITED NATIONS, September 26 (C-Fam) U.S. Health Chief Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told the U.N. today that the U.S. cannot accept language that promotes gender ideology or that promotes an international right to abortion.
Kennedy referred to gender ideology as “destructive.” He also said the U.S. cannot accept “claims about a constitutional or international right to abortion.” Granted, Kennedy was speaking for the United States government, but the language was surprising coming from the usually pro-abortion former Democrat. He also said the World Health Organization (WHO) “cannot claim credibility or leadership until it undergoes radical reform.”
Kennedy said the U.S. will reject a political declaration that has been presented for adoption. RFK’s sharp comments came during a meeting on non-communicable diseases.
Held on the sidelines of the U.N. High-Level Week, the meeting brought together dignitaries from around the world to discuss the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases as well as the promotion of mental health.
RFK Jr. said that the U.S. has the “highest chronic disease burden on earth” with ultra-processed food as a key driver of the epidemic. The U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services went on to say that the surge in chronic illness is a “global calamity” that claims over 40 million lives worldwide every year.
“I call on the international community to come together to combat this scourge. We cannot defeat the epidemic alone, but the U.N. approach is misdirected. It attempts both too little and too much. It exceeds the U.N.’s proper role while ignoring the most pressing health issues, and that is why the U.S. will reject it,” Secretary Kennedy continued.
In June 2025, the WHO gave special status to a leading pro-abortion legal group, a move strongly opposed by a coalition of pro-life organizations, which urged the WHO to reject the official partnership and not “compromise WHO’s integrity, independence, credibility, and reputation.”
In 2024, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the WHO, expressed support for the agency’s abortion guidelines, claiming that such support stems from “siding with science.”
The WHO also announced the development of a “guideline on the health of trans and gender diverse people,” which would focus on five impact areas, including “provision of gender-affirming care, including hormones relating to adults.”
At the recent U.N. meeting, RFK Jr. said that “the U.S. objects to the political declaration” on non-communicable diseases. According to U.N. procedures, U.N. political declarations must be adopted by consensus. A formal objection by a member state blocks consensus, thus delaying the adoption process.
U.S. State Department officials and U.S. diplomats warned the President of the General Assembly against presenting the draft political declaration for adoption due to the lack of consensus over the controversial language included in the text.
“Member states decided that this meeting should approve a declaration in advance by consensus to ensure this gathering will not be marked by controversy, but the declaration is filled with controversy, with provisions about everything from taxes to oppressive management by international bodies of communicable diseases,” RFK Jr. explained.
Secretary Kennedy said that “the draft declaration should not have been included in today’s agenda” and that “the United States will walk away from the declaration but will never walk away from the world or our commitment to end chronic disease.”
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