By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), one of the organizations providing overseas abortions that is now receiving U.S. taxpayer money, appears to be circulating false information about its involvement in China’s brutal one-child policy enforcement.
The UNFPA’s involvement in the enforcement of China’s one-child per family law is the reason why President George W. Bush repeatedly denied the organization funding. However, within weeks of President Obama taking office, $50 million was set aside for the organization in the Omnibus spending bill.
According to the Catholic News Agency, the UNFPA claims that it is now playing a role in turning the enforcement of China’s one-child policy into a “quality of care” approach that removes birth targets and quotas. However, on-the-ground evidence does not support these claims.
The Population Research Institute (PRI) conducted an on-site investigation in three Chinese counties that the UNFPA considers to be models for its claim. PRI’s Colin Mason, who led the team that conducted the March 7-11 investigation, found that the policy has not been relaxed and that “the coercive measures undertaken by the government are worse now than ever.”
According to Mason, “when the actual conditions on the ground are observed, the UNFPA’s claim that it ‘played a catalytic role in introducing a voluntary reproductive health approach in China’ is patently absurd. The policy is just as coercive in these areas as anywhere else.”
“Crippling fines, intense pressure to be sterilized, the flagrant display of quota information, and even the seizure of ‘illegal children’ by the government are commonplace,” Mason continued. “The UNFPA insists that its presence has led to the removal of these measures. It has not.”
“We at PRI ask the President to take a more critical approach in considering funding for the UNFPA,” said Steven Mosher, PRI’s president. “United States law clearly dictates that tax dollars cannot fund forced abortion or coercive measures overseas. The President has shown no consideration for these laws, nor has he expressed any concern over the UNFPA’s clear and consistent involvement in human rights abuses.”
Mason said that PRI stands ready to provide evidence to the Obama Administration about UNFPA’s involvement in China’s coercive policy.
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