Bush Administration Poised to De-Fund UNFPA, Circumvent Congress

January 14, 2002

The Bush Administration last week indicated that it may reduce or deny funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the foremost UN agency involved in expanding access to family planning and maternal health care around the world, including in Afghanistan. The news comes within days of the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion in the United States, and can only be interpreted as an attempt by conservative, anti-abortion groups and lawmakers to derail U.S. international family planning efforts. High-ranking White House and State Department officials are scheduled to further discuss the matter this Wednesday.

As White House and State Department officials prepare to determine the level of U.S. funding for international family planning assistance, now is an ideal opportunity to editorialize in support of these critical programs, and specifically in support of UNFPA.

The White House has placed a temporary hold on the $34 million allocated to UNFPA by Congress as part of the foreign aid bill for 2002, signaling opposition to UNFPA's activities in China. This funding was approved by Congress less than a month ago, in an agreement reached through extensive, bipartisan negotiations during the appropriations process. To go around Congress at this point could have serious political implications.

Lisa Moreno, Senior Legislative Policy Analyst at PAI commented, "The $34 million for UNFPA represents an agreement between Democrat and Republican appropriators and ratified by the full House and Senate. To fund UNFPA at a lower level is nothing less than the White House circumventing the will of Congress."

UNFPA: Proven Track Record of Saving Women, Children's Lives

Since 1969, UNFPA has worked to expand family planning and related health services to women and families across the globe, especially in the poorest regions of the world, including Afghanistan. These programs are essential to the health and well-being of women.

Population Action International (PAI) President Amy Coen remarked, "In Afghanistan, women bear an average of seven children, and childbirth is extremely risky. Worldwide, a woman dies every minute. For years UNFPA has worked to better these odds, helping make critical health services available to women in the poorest parts of the world. For the President to do this, at this time, flies in the face of his proclaimed concern for all women, including those in Afghanistan. It's unconscionable."

In recent months, the Bush Administration has acknowledged the importance of elevating women's status in promoting democracy, awarding additional funds specifically for UNFPA's activities in Afghanistan.

This support seems half-hearted, in light of the current situation. As noted by Ms. Coen, "Just two months ago the President believed enough in the work of UNFPA to invest an additional $600,000 in its programs in Afghanistan. What's changed in two months?"

Withholding U.S. funding for UNFPA not only undercuts the Administration's alleged support for women's rights, but could also severely destabilize the scope and breadth of UNFPA's activities. UN officials estimate that the loss of U.S. funding could undermine their capacity to prevent 800,000 abortions and the deaths of 4,700 mothers and 77,000 children under the age of five. It will also jeopardize UNFPA's international AIDS prevention programs.

Legislative Background: The Kemp-Kasten Amendment

The funding for UNFPA is being threatened under authority granted to the White House under a little-known provision of law called the Kemp-Kasten amendment, which was first incorporated in foreign aid appropriations bills as an amendment in 1985. Kemp-Kasten prohibits foreign aid funding for any organization that, as determined by the President, supports or participates in the management of a program of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization. For domestic political reasons, the Reagan and Bush administrations interpreted the language very broadly, resulting in presidential determination that UNFPA was ineligible for funding because of its projects in China.

That same year, however, a review of UNFPA programs by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) determined that UNFPA neither funds abortions nor supports coercive family planning practices through its programs. Since then, various studies of China's family planning program have documented its compulsory nature and the presence of coercion in China's program overall, but UNFPA has never been implicated for any coercive practices. These findings had no impact on the Administration however, and UNFPA was still denied funding. The Clinton Administration formally announced its intention to resume funding UNFPA in May of 1993. Using its authority under the Kemp-Kasten amendment, the Administration gave $14.5 million to UNFPA the following August. In subsequent years, U.S. funding for UNFPA has fluctuated, although a contribution has been made in every year except 1999. Funding for FY 2001 was at $25 million; the foreign aid bill negotiated this past December included $34 million for UNFPA.

Last year, the Bush Administration again reviewed UNFPA's activities and determined that UNFPA was not in violation of Kemp-Kasten. For the Administration to now consider backtracking on its commitment to this agency threatens to undermine the efforts of family planning and women's rights advocates, health workers, and women and families everywhere - especially in the regions where UNFPA works.

Population Action International (PAI) works to improve individual well-being and preserve global resources by mobilizing political and financial support for population, family planning and reproductive health policies and programs.