An amendment by pro-abortion Congressman Joseph Crowley (D-NY) would essentially scrap an 18-year old pro-life law and have the U.S. backing organizations that support forced abortions and sterilizations.
During committee consideration of a bill to fund the State Department, Crowley successfully added an amendment that would make inactive the 18 year old Kemp-Kasten human rights protection. The Kemp-Kasten provision currently prohibits taxpayer funding of any “organization or program which, as determined by the President of the United States, supports or participates in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.”
President Bush and pro-life lawmakers have used the provision, along with other evidence, to deny funding to the UNFPA because it backs coercive abortions in China.
The Crowley amendment would severely weaken this important pro-life law and replace it with an unenforceable and meaningless provision.
“As Americans who value freedom, we want to absolutely everything in our power to make sure we are not directly or indirectly supporting the horrible practice of coercive abortion and involuntary sterilization,” John Cusey, director of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, told the Pro-Life Infonet. Cusey indicated pro-life lawmakers will work to strip the Crowley amendment from the bill when it reaches the House floor.
The amendment passed 23-22 in the House International Relations Committee. The Kemp-Kasten provision has been included in every Foreign Operations Appropriations bill since 1985.
ACTION: Please contact your member of Congress and urge strong support for the Kemp-Kasten provision. Tell your Representative to drop the Crowley amendment and oppose coercive abortions. You can reach any member at 202-224-3121 or click here to find more specific contact information.
(This article courtesy of Steven Ertelt and the Pro-Life Infonet email newsletter. For more information or to subscribe go to www.prolifeinfo.org or email infonet@prolifeinfo.org.)
