The World Health Organization (WHO) is in the spotlight for their inept handling of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, for which President Trump announced he would temporarily cut off America’s funding of the organization. But even prior to the current botched handling of the global health crisis, WHO has been condemned by the Pro-Life movement for overt promotion of pro-abortion policies in countries across the world, as well as their anti-Life leadership and partnerships.
WHO claims that “access to safe and legal abortion is essential for the realization of [international human]rights.” The organization aggressively advocates for abortion across the world, including through:
- Removing parental consent requirements for minors seeking an abortion, as well as removing other “unnecessary requirements”
- Limiting conscience protections for healthcare professionals who object to abortion
- Expanding who is allowed to perform an abortion beyond just physicians
- Lowering safety standards to increase “safe access”
- Encouraging women to self-administer abortion
Even in the midst of the COVID-19 worldwide crisis, WHO is trying to take advantage of the pandemic by promoting abortion through women self-administering the procedure and supporting no limits on abortion during this time of crisis and limited resources. Additionally, WHO promotes other policies and sexual education that are anti-family and dangerous for women and children.
The pro-abortion policies promoted by WHO flow primarily from their leadership. In 2017, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus took over as Director-General of WHO. Before assuming this role, he served as health minister of Ethiopia for seven years, during which time he led the effort to legalize elective abortion in Ethiopia. When he became Director-General, he was welcomed by over 100 pro-abortion organizations to his new role. He continues to partner extensively with these groups in formulating WHO policies. Most notable is WHO’s partnership with International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). The Human Reproduction Program (HRP), a joint program of several international organizations including WHO, also includes IPPF as the only non-governmental organization partner, so unsurprisingly as part of their work HRP promotes abortion across the world.
President Trump’s decision to defund WHO could not come a day too soon for protecting preborn children around the world. At over $400 million, the United States contributed the most funds of any country to WHO, accounting for nearly 15% of WHO’s budget. The Trump Administration has already taken significant steps to defend Life around the world through reinstating the Mexico City Policy and defunding the United Nations Population Fund. This additional step of defunding WHO of U.S. taxpayer dollars, though achieved because of their deficiency and deceit in handling the COVID-19 pandemic, is another win for the Pro-Life movement and innocent human Life in our country and around the world.