Senate Committee Approves More Funding to Overseas Abortion Groups

By Lisa Correnti | June 30, 2016

The abortion lobby stronghold on Democrat senators was evident for the second time this week resulting in the passing of a hostile amendment that increases funding to international abortion groups and legislativelly blocks any attempts to withhold funding in the future.

The Senate Appropriations committee passed the FY2017 State and Foreign Operations (SFOPs) bill which provides the funding for the State Department overseas operations,  including for humanitarian and development assistance programs where desperately needed.

Many senators made statements regretting that budget cap restraints makes it difficult to do more on the humanitarian front, yet family planning advocates were not deterred from securing an addition $161 million for organizations and UN agencies that promote and perform abortion.

With a Republican majority now in the Senate the SFOPs bill came out of the subcommittee drafting mirroring its counterpart in the House reducing family planning funding to 2008 levels and providing pro-life safeguards.

However, similar to last year Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) offered an amendment to increase an already bloated family planning account, restore funding to United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and permanently repeal the Mexico City policy which prohibits funding to overseas organizations that perform or promote abortion.

President Obama’s rescinding of the Mexico City policy in the early days of his presidency allowed abortion groups like Marie Stopes International, and International Planned Parenthood Federation to be the recipients of hundreds of millions of dollars.

The Mexico City policy first instituted by President Reagan was a provision to prevent US taxpayer money from being used overseas to agitate countries to change their laws on abortion or used to terminate unborn life. Since Reagan the policy has been in place only with sitting Republican presidents.

Permanent legislative attempts by both parties to codify the Mexico City policy into law or to permanently repeal have been made. A legislative repeal would guarantee overseas abortion groups are always eligible for US funding despite the number of abortions they perform.

In her address to committee colleagues Senator Shaheen used inaccurate data claiming that over 200 million women are without access to contraception, and that abortions actually increased when the Mexico City policy was in effect.

A review of a Lancet study on the 200M unmet need figure clearly shows Shaheen’s claim is false – noting just 4-8% of married women lack access. Yet family planning stakeholders and their lawmaker advocates – want to guarantee the flow of US dollars continues. With the global community now providing almost $2 billion annually for contraception to women in some 35 underdeveloped countries – the US should redirect its limited resources to real life saving remedies – some 4,000 people die daily from disease caused by poor sanitation.

Shaheen’s statement in advocating for the permanent repeal of the Mexico City policy — that abortions rise when the Mexico City policy is in place has been debunked for its questionable methodology of data collection.

The Shaheen amendment passed 17 to 13 due to three Republican senators support for funding abortion organizations — Senators Collins (R-ME), Kirk (R-IL), and Murkowski (R-AK).

Shaheen’s amendment also modified language relating to the Healthy Timing and Spacing of Pregnancy program (HTSP) that may harm faith based humanitarian organizations. Faith based groups had previously been allowed a conscience exemption to implement the delivery of the program in a manner that doesn’t violate their mission.

The House version of the SFOPs bill goes to mark-up next week. If the bill does pass both chambers, while increased family planning and UNFPA funding may stand, it is unlikely House leadership will accept the permanent repeal of the Mexico City policy.

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