GOP Advance Bill Defunding UN Population Control Agency

by William Teach | October 6, 2011 8:46 am

Obviously, Democrats have a problem with this

(CNS News[1]) U.S. House Republicans fired another shot across the bow of the United Nations Wednesday, advancing a bill to defund a U.N. agency accused of complicity in China’s coercive population control policies.

By a 23-17 vote along party lines, the House Foreign Relations Committee approved a bill, introduced by freshman Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.), that would save $400 million over ten years in funding to the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA).

The 1985 “Kemp-Kasten amendment” prohibits federal funding for any agency that “supports or participates in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.” Citing the amendment and China’s “one-child” policy, President Bush defunded the UNFPA from 2002 to 2008. President Obama restored funding soon after taking office.

I’ll admit, when I saw a tweet from Elmers late Wednesday, I said to myself “For Pete’s sake, there are more things that the GOP needs to be doing than dealing with abortion funding”, and didn’t read the link. This, however, makes sense. Why should the taxpayers of the US give money to the United Nations which they use to provide abortions around the world, including the forced abortions and sterilization of people in not just China, but, in other countries as well? We shouldn’t be paying for this, and, while in terms of Washington, $400 million over ten years is not a lot, a million here, a million there, and pretty soon we have some real savings.

Ranking minority member Rep. Howard Berman (Calif.) asserted that H.R. 2059 would harm poor women and children in developing countries suffering the effects of disease, war and rape.

“Rather than helping these desperate people — as UNFPA seeks to do — the legislation makes them pawns in a debate over social issues that often seems divorced from reality,” he said.

Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-Va.) called the anti-UNFPA measure “a smear campaign” against “an easy target.”

Democrats will say anything in order to make sure abortions happen. But, UNFP has over $500 million in unspent funds. And many other agencies, both American, other countries’, and UN ones do much of the same job.

Apparently, Democrats have no problem funding an agency which provides money for forced sterilizations and abortions. You’d think at least one of them would be upset about this.

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove[2]. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach[3]. Please sign the drill now petition[4].

Endnotes:
  1. CNS News: http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/republicans-advance-bill-defunding-un-population-control-agency
  2. Pirate’s Cove: http://www.thepiratescove.us/
  3. @WilliamTeach: http://twitter.com/WilliamTeach
  4. drill now petition: https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/!/petition/open-amwr-gulf-mexico-and-other-places-domestic-oil-drilling-along-new-refineries/JwrFsKWP?utm_source=wh.gov&utm_medium=shorturl&utm_campaign=shorturl

Source URL: https://rightwingnews.com/democrats/gop-advance-bill-defunding-un-population-control-agency/