REPORT: Irish government gave €50M to international pro-abortion group

The Irish government earmarked over 50 million euros (€) in taxpayer funds for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) between 2019 and 2024.

Key Takeaways:

• The total sum of €50,411,250 was distributed to the UNFPA over a five-year period as part of Ireland’s overseas development aid.

• The Irish government claims the money went to maternal and newborn health care, infertility treatment, family planning, etc., but the UNFPA is known for supporting objectionable population control measures.

• While this vast sum was spent in this regard, very little comparatively was put toward providing life-affirming alternatives to mothers and their preborn babies.

The Details:

The total sum of €50,411,250 was distributed over a five-year period as part of Ireland’s overseas development aid. The figure was disclosed in response to a parliamentary question asked by Independent Ireland TD for Cork North Central, Ken O’Flynn.

A statement from the Irish Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade claimed (emphasis added):

“The funds involved have been provided and used for maternal and newborn health care; treatment of complications arising from childbirth such as obstetric fistula; prevention and treatment of infertility; family planning, with a particular focus on reducing unintended pregnancies among adolescents and in humanitarian settings; prevention and management of consequences of unsafe abortion; the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted disease, including HIV; and, the prevention of and response to sexual and gender based violence.”

On its website, the UNFPA claimed that its mission is to expedite “reproductive health” and “family planning” globally. These phrases typically function as umbrella language for committing and advocating for abortion. 

Zoom In:

In a recent article, the Pro Life Campaign (PLC) highlighted the Irish government’s questionable bankrolling of the UNFPA, juxtaposing the degree of international spending with what it says is a lack of government support for pregnancy care centers and other life-affirming services within Ireland. 

“It is deeply concerning that over €50 million of Irish taxpayers’ money was gifted by the Government over a five-year period to such a controversial ideological organisation. For years, the UNFPA has been at the forefront of efforts to expand abortion internationally, especially across developing nations. The Government’s decision to allocate such an enormous level of funding to the organisation, without any prior public discussion or scrutiny, makes the move even more shocking and unacceptable,” the PLC declared. 

In addition, the Irish advocacy group pointed out that not a single euro from the Irish government was put toward domestic life-affirming alternatives that support women facing unplanned pregnancies. In their statement, the PLC said:

The sheer scale of public funding committed by the Government in recent years to contentious causes such as the promotion and provision of abortion worldwide is nothing short of staggering, all the more so when you consider that the Government does not spend so much as a single cent on promoting life-affirming alternatives to abortion, either in Ireland or overseas. This is a full-blown scandal that must remain in the public spotlight until meaningful change is achieved.

Over the past five years, the Irish government has set aside millions of euros to bankroll a range of international organizations that promote abortion, including the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and the Clinton Foundation, in addition to its recent funding allocations to the UNFPA.

Sandra Parda of the Life Institute told Live Action News:

"It is beyond disbelief that our government has the money to fund such an extraordinary amount to an organization that is so grossly embedded into promoting and spreading abortion. It seems that the government will go to extraordinary lengths into promoting, spreading, and seeking more abortions, at home in Ireland or abroad. This is all despite the extortionate amount of abortions that are happening already; it seems they are restless and unsatisfied until more babies will be murdered through abortion, happily giving away Irish taxpayers' money.

The Irish government is also more than happy to fund over 60,000 abortions that have happened in Ireland since 2019, unashamedly paying a fraction of the costs to take care of pregnant women. To this day, the government funds every abortion by paying the doctor 450 euro, whilst the doctor only receives 240-270 euro for taking care of a pregnant woman.

It makes you wonder, why does the Irish government have no shame in pushing for more liberal laws for abortion in Ireland, and spending extraordinary amounts of money funding abortions not only at home, but to organizations whose mission is to spread and promote abortions internationally, especially in developing countries?"

Kate Lawlor, who works with Gianna Care, a pregnancy resource center, likewise expressed disbelief that the Irish government would put so much money towards abortion, while refusing to help women access any alternative. Lawlor told Live Action News:

Gianna Care staff and volunteers in Ireland work very hard to remove or at least minimize the many challenges a woman may face which could otherwise prevent her from continuing with her pregnancy.

Gianna Care is unique in Ireland in providing a wide range of care and services based on a woman’s personally assessed needs. It is a not-for-profit company, which receives no government funding, and relies completely on its long-standing supporters, volunteers, and friends. We offer professional counseling to our clients at no cost to them, and we also assist with their material needs, such as buggies, nursing chairs, formula milk, nappies, clothing for babies, and essential hospital items for mothers when giving birth.

Assistance and support may continue for up to 12 months after the baby is born, as required. We also provide post-abortion support for those women who need it. All material items are donated to us by ordinary people, because many of the needs of women experiencing a crisis pregnancy are not being met by the State. It is a matter of deep concern and disappointment  for our clients whose need for help is great, and for all involved with Gianna Care, who do what they possibly can to help, to discover just how much money the State is spending on supporting abortion-related services, and how little is spent on services providing meaningful and substantial assistance so that more women are able to choose to continue their pregnancy, and on supporting and caring for those who suffer emotionally after an abortion.

The Big Picture:

In 2018, Ireland legalized abortion after the repeal of the Eighth Amendment, which had acknowledged the equal right to life of mothers and their preborn children.

Since then, government policy has gradually become in sync with broader international abortion initiatives, including partnerships with pro-abortion organizations like the UNFPA, all while life-affirming services remain underfunded. 

Although the Irish government alleges that its contributions are meant to enhance maternal health care, and decrease poverty in developing countries, the UNFPA is responsible for promoting abortion in various regions and cooperating with groups that explicitly provide or advocate for abortion services.

One key concern for pro-lifers is the UNFPA’s long term involvement in countries with controversial population control policies. Although the agency has rebuffed its role in coercive anti-life practices, pro-life groups have repeatedly singled out its presence in countries like China, where forced abortion or sterilization has been recorded.

The Bottom Line:

For many Irish citizens who oppose abortion on moral or religious grounds, the use of public money to bankroll groups connected to abortion overseas represents a grave conflict of conscience.

At a critical juncture when Ireland’s abortion regime continues to widen with escalating numbers of abortions reported yearly since legalization, international abortion funding is part of an insidious cultural and political plan to regularize abortion both domestically and globally.

In post-repeal Ireland, the issue is whether government policy will continue to inch toward broadening and increasing abortion, or invest in life-affirming measures to establish a culture that supports life at every stage.