Saying that it tolerates abortions and forced sterilizations, President Bush sent a memorandum on September 30 to Secretary of State Colin Powell transferring $34 million away from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). The money will go instead to a fund used to improve children’s health overseas, the Child Survival and Health Programs Fund run by the Agency for International Development in the State Department.

The administration position is that the UNFPA funds were being used illegally by China to carry out forced abortions and sterilizations. In May, a State Department fact-finding team went to China and reported, “The population programs of the People’s Republic of China retain coercive elements in law and in practice.” The team recommended that “no U.S. government funds be allocated for population programs” in China.

In late September, the UNFPA has admitted that it does not monitor the 32 counties in China where it operates.

Published in VSHL Lifesaver, October 2002