$700 million in funding for overseas pro-abortion groups could be redirected

From a pro-life United Nations watchdog blog:

Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) introduced an amendment today that will prohibit U.S. foreign assistance from flowing to any international clinic that performs or promotes abortion. The amendment (SA934) was attached to the minibus bill, H.R. 2354 that pertains to appropriations for the State/Foreign Operations, Energy and Water, and Financial Services.

… Foreign assistance for family planning was $600 million last year. The proposed amount in the Senate bill for 2012 is $700 million. If the Hatch amendment were to pass, restoring the Mexico City policy, it would prevent millions of dollars from flowing to [non-government organizations]’s that advocate for widespread access to abortion and population control activities in poor countries. [Turtle Bay and Beyond]

Why again, in these difficult economic times, are we sending an additional $100 million in taxpayer money to overseas abortionists on top of the $600 million we already send them? I’m glad Senator Hatch introduced this amendment and I hope it passes with strong support (unfortunately, such an outcome is unlikely considering how pro-abortion the U.S. Senate is right now). Still, we should check to see where our Senators stand on the amendment.

American pro-lifers are (correctly) focused on defunding Planned Parenthood here in the U.S., but we should also be vigilant that American taxpayer money does not go to fund overseas abortionists. There are plenty of good agencies that help developing countries and are eligible for receiving this aid money who do not do abortions — these are the only type of groups that should be eligible for funding. After all, as this video by the Population Research Institute explains: people, not abortions, are the secret behind lifting people out of poverty:

We should work to ensure our politicians support pro-life, pro-family organizations worldwide because, when it comes to being pro-life and pro-family, borders shouldn’t matter.