|
|
||
Bush defunding of UNFPA comported with the law Date published: 8/9/2004
Rick Mercier's column of July 29, regarding United States funding of the United Nations Population Fund ["UNFPA is a necessary agency that all Americans should support"] misrepresents administration policy, disregards U.S. law, and ignores Chinese law and policies that force women to have abortions. The Bush administration is firmly committed to protecting the health of women and children in the developing world. The U.S. Agency for International Development provides more than $1.8 billion for health programs, including reproductive health, and an additional $377 million for education programs. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also provides over $314 million for health programs abroad. Further, this administration has dramatically increased funding for HIV/AIDS, including $500 million to prevent mother-to-child transmission. The decision not to fund UNFPA was based on careful consideration of all relevant facts in light of the Kemp-Kasten amendment to the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act, which requires that "[n]one of the funds made available in this Actmay be made available to any organization or program, whichsupports or participates in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization." China has a program of coercive abortion with severe fines and administrative penalties for giving birth to an unauthorized child. UNFPA continues its support of, or involvement in, the management of China's coercive birth limitation program. We have actively engaged China and UNFPA, and are prepared to consider funding UNFPA in future. Our objective in China is the realization of a climate where women and men make decisions freely about the number, timing, and spacing of their children. Arthur E. Dewey Mary C. Thomas Arthur E. Dewey is assistant secretary of state, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. Mary C. Thomas is press officer for Media Outreach, U.S. Department of State.
1. Be respectful. No personal attacks.
|
|
|||||||||||||
