By Amy Lidell, Intern for Concerned Women for America
The fight for life continues as the United States has come together with Brazil, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, and Uganda to form the Geneva Consensus Declaration. The virtual signing of this consensus took place on October 22, 2020, to commemorate the commitment of these nations working together to promote better health care for women, preserve human life, strengthen the family unit as the foundation of society, and protect every nation’s sovereignty in global politics. It is every nation’s sovereign right to push back international abortion ideology and pass their own laws regarding abortion.
President Donald Trump, a strong defender of human life, warned the United Nations to stay within its mandate at the 2019 United Nations General Assembly Speech stating, “Americans will never tire of defending innocent life. We are aware that many United Nations projects have attempted to assert a global right to taxpayer-funded abortion on demand, right up until the moment of delivery. Global bureaucrats have absolutely no business attacking the sovereignty of nations that wish to protect innocent life. Like many nations here today, we in America believe that every child born and unborn, is a sacred gift from God.”
Over 76 percent of Americans oppose American taxpayer dollars supporting abortion in other countries. Abortion is not healthcare and is not a legitimate form of family planning. There is only an international right to life. No multilateral organizations should use their power and influence to pressure any country to include or exclude abortion in their national policies. This allows each nation to determine its own path in preserving human dignity, as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In connection with the Trump Administration’s Protecting Life in Global Health Policy, the Geneva Consensus seeks to build a global coalition to promote women’s health while protecting unborn life and strengthening the family. Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance (PLGHA) works in conjunction with this policy by restricting funding for organizations abroad that promote or perform abortion.
Although US contractors and subcontractors are not subject to PLGHA (also known as the Mexico City policy), they are held to ensure the compliance of any foreign subcontractors. The Trump Administration has proposed a rule to clarify this responsibility and to expand the terms of PLGHA to cover all international health program contracts, in addition to the global health assistance grants and cooperative agreements under current policy. You can join in commenting in support of this Mexico City Policy Rule at our Action Center by clicking here. The deadline for comments is November 13, 2020.
Progress abounds in the fight for life. We encourage you to continue to pray for wisdom and clarity for our international leaders to continue to step up and find ways to continue to preserve national sovereignty and the individual’s right to life.