SPUC supports call to Bush to stop UNFPA funding

London, 6 June 2002--The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) has added its support to a letter from 19 other pro-life and pro-family organisations which urges President Bush to cut funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) because of its involvement with forced abortion and sterilisation in China.

The letter, dated the 21st of last month, expresses concern that, when a US State Department delegation visits China, the authorities will be given enough notice of its intended movements to be able to arrange for it to meet only citizens who will deny that coercion is used in UNFPA-funded programmes.

The letter describes how former Presidents Reagan and George H W Bush used a measure known as the Kemp-Kasten amendment to deny funding to the UNFPA because of its activities in China. It contrasts those presidents' actions with the way in which former President Bill Clinton re-interpreted the amendment to allow funding for UNFPA. The letter also points out how Mr Colin Powell, the secretary of state, has concurred with Mr Clinton's action.

The letter cites audio and video recordings of Chinese people who had experienced or witnessed coercion as part of UNFPA-supported work.

Anthony Ozimic, SPUC's political secretary, said: "Repeatedly we have seen how parliamentary delegations from one country or another have been manipulated by Chinese authorities so that the forced abortion practices which are so well-documented have been completely hidden from their view."

The letter says:

Dear President Bush:

We understand that a State Department delegation is in China investigating UNFPA's involvement in China's coercive one-child policy.

This delegation was preceded by what appears to have been two international whitewashes of forced abortion in China.

We have grave concerns about this current State Department investigation. The Chinese government agreed to receive this State Department delegation. It will be monitored by the Chinese government throughout the duration of its investigation. The delegation also will provide twenty-four hours notice of its travel plans to the Chinese. This will be more than enough time for the Chinese government to alert officials of their coming, and for cover stories of "voluntarism" to be in place.

The purpose of the delegation is to provide you, Mr. President, with information to determine if U.N. Population Fund activities in China violate the Kemp-Kasten amendment. This amendment prohibits U.S. funds from going to groups that support or manage programs of forced abortion and non-voluntary sterilization overseas.

In making your decision, we urge you to use the original interpretation of Kemp-Kasten. Two previous Presidents, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, determined that UNFPA activities in China alone were sufficient to render UNFPA ineligible to receive U.S. funds.

We have additional concerns about the flawed reinterpretation of Kemp-Kasten established by President Bill Clinton designed to circumvent federal protections against U.S. taxpayer support of forced abortion programs abroad. Sadly, this flawed reinterpretation -- supported only by written statements from China and the UNFPA which allege that UNFPA is involved only in regions in China where coercion does not exist -- has received subsequent concurrence from U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, in a State Department memo dated February 2, 2001.

Both the Chinese State Family Planning Commission (SFPC) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) claim that coercion does not exist in thirty-two county family planning programs supported and jointly managed by the UNFPA in China. (Sources: Reproductive Health/Family Planning Project, CPR/98/PO1, The Project Office of the State Family Planning Commission, UNFPA; UNFPA's County Program in China: Providing Quality Care, Protecting Human Rights, UNFPA, August 10, 2001.)

However, from September 27-30, 2001, a team of independent investigators recorded audio- and videotaped testimonies of victims and witnesses of coercion in UNFPA's "model" county program in Sihui, Guandong Province, PRC. More than two-dozen victims and witnesses said that coercion, only coercion and nothing but coercion, exists in this UNFPA county program in China, in which the SFPC and the UNFPA have expressed in writing that they "work together."

China's one-child policy is coercive. UNFPA clearly supports this program, which is implemented through forced abortion and non-voluntary sterilization, and is therefore in violation of Kemp-Kasten.

We urge you, Mr. President, to be very careful when reviewing the findings of the State Department delegation, and to defund UNFPA because of its continuing support of the coercive population program in China.

Sincerely,

THE SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF UNBORN CHILDREN
London, England

POPULATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Steve Mosher
President

FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL
Connie Mackey
Vice President for Governmental Affairs

CONCERNED WOMEN FOR AMERICA
Sandy Rios
President

TRADITIONAL VALUES COALITION
Andrea Lafferty
Executive Director

SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION
Shannon Royce
Director of Government Relations & Legislative Counsel
Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission

CHRISTIAN COALITION OF AMERICA
Roberta Combs
President

COALITIONS FOR AMERICA
Paul M. Weyrich
National Chairman

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM COALITION
William J. Murray
President

CATHOLIC FAMILY AND HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTE
Austin Ruse
President

FAMILY PROTECTION LOBBY
Douglas Stiegler
Executive Director

FAMILY ACTION ALLIANCE
Charles A. Donovan
Executive Director

TRADITION, FAMILY, PROPERTY, INC.
C. Preston Noell III
President

THE BEVERLY LAHAYE INSTITUTE
Janice Shaw Crouse, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow

NATIONAL ABSTINENCE CLEARINGHOUSE
Leslee Unruh
President and Founder

CLEVELAND RIGHT TO LIFE
Daniel P. Coyne
President

URBAN FAMILY
William T. Devlin
President

THE FAMILY RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF WISCONSIN
Julaine K. Appling
Executive Director

CHRISTIAN CIVIC LEAGUE OF MAINE
Mike Heath
Director

LAKE COUNTY RIGHT TO LIFE
Dawn E. Slike
President

cc: Congressman Henry Hyde (R-IL)
Congressman Christopher Smith (R-NJ)
Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS)
Elliott Abrams, National Security Council