WHO Director-General Says Supporting Abortion is “Siding with Science”

By | October 5, 2023

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 6 (C-Fam) The Director General of the World Health Organization has defended the agency’s abortion guidelines and general pro-abortion stance as “siding with science.”

This occurred at a press conference when a reporter from National Review asked Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus about the credibility of the WHO since the agency praised China for its early response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oddly, he answered the question talking about abortion. “Countries accused us of siding with countries that support abortion.”  He said his critics argued “you should not as [Director-General] take sides. You should not talk about abortion.” Ghebreyesus said, “Yes, we take sides, but the sides are not this group of countries or that group of countries.  The third way is we side with science. We side with evidence.  So don’t discard that side.”

Ghebreyesus insisted that the WHO does not take sides with individual countries or groups of countries in international disputes, but rather, “we focus on science; we focus on facts.”

Ghebreyesus was visiting New York for a high-level meeting on pandemic preparedness and response. The same day saw the General Assembly adopt a non-binding political declaration on the pandemic preparedness that included language on “sexual and reproductive health” and “reproductive rights,” which are understood as including abortion only where legal and without creating an international right.

Pro-life advocates have pointed out that the humanity and dignity of unborn children is not a matter that can be determined by empirical experimentation, and that it is a philosophical and moral issue, and one that also has political implications.

Ghebreyesus himself demonstrated an awareness of the distinction between science and morality when he spoke about the importance of discovering the origins of the COVID-19 virus.

“One, it’s science, and second, it’s a moral issue.  It’s science meaning knowing the origins of this virus will help us prevent the next one.  And moral —we lost millions of people and billions have been affected by this pandemic, and it’s very important to know why.”

According to the Guttmacher Institute an estimated 73 million abortions occur worldwide each year.  According to the WHO’s data as of September 2023, there have been almost 7 million deaths from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

Recent guidance from the WHO on abortion not only does not attempt to address the moral implications of abortion itself, but also pressures countries to impose limits on conscience rights of health care providers who oppose abortion.

Meanwhile, negotiations of a pandemic preparedness treaty are ongoing.  Critics, including pro-life U.S. Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) are raising concerns that it would erode national sovereignty.  At the same time, others expressed annoyance that the recently-agreed political declaration contained no binding commitments at all.

Ghebreyesus expressed optimism that the treaty negotiations would be successfully completed next May.  With regard to the political declaration, he expressed satisfaction that “at this time of division and polarization” it was possible to come together on an agreed response.

The WHO continued to pressure countries to accept abortion as a human right on September 28, which activists have named as “International Safe Abortion Day.”  The organization’s statement called for the “decriminalization of abortion and removal of laws and policies that are barriers to access,” reducing abortion stigma, and “involving and reaching youth to safeguard abortion access for all.”

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