A top United States senator has warned that funds allocated for combating AIDS have been used to carry out abortions abroad.
The United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has saved an estimated 25 million lives around the world.
Although PEPFAR is prohibited from funding abortion, a recent audit found that a provider financed by the scheme carried out 21 abortions in Mozambique since January 2021, according to a briefing to Congress.
A top Republican senator stated that this misappropriation of funds was “disgusting” and “illegal”.
“This violation means that the future of the PEPFAR programme is certainly in jeopardy”, warned Senator Jim Risch, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“I will not support one dollar of American money going towards abortion anywhere in the world, and I will do all I can to ensure this never happens again.”
Senator Risch has called for an investigation into the Centres for Disease Control (CDC), which implements PEPFAR.
“Whether CDC staff were being overly zealous, stupid, evil, or inept, they have violated the law and done a disservice to the country and those suffering from AIDS worldwide”, the senator said.
President Donald Trump, whose inauguration took place yesterday, is expected to reinstate the Mexico City Policy, which bans the promotion and/or provision of abortion by non-governmental organisations that receive US Federal funding.
First introduced by President Ronald Reagan, the Policy was reinstated by Trump in 2017, only to be rescinded by President Joe Biden in 2021.
SPUC comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “Funding for abortions abroad is a sick aspect of the Abortion Empire that we hope will be stopped under a generally more pro-life Trump administration.
“For too long, public taxpayer money on both sides of the Atlantic has been misappropriated by government and foreign aid agencies to advance a global pro-abortion agenda, especially in Africa.
“The UK should also reconsider its foreign aid to China, which continues to oppress its minority Uyghur population, forcing many women to undergo abortions they don’t want.”
