This week, the U.S. Department of State officially published three rules expanding the “Mexico City Policy,” which, since 1984, has restricted certain federal funds from going to foreign organizations that perform or promote abortion. The new rules impose additional abortion-related requirements on foreign nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), public international organizations, foreign governments, and parastatal organizations.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a statement in support of the measure, signed by Bishop Edward Burns, chairman of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, Bishop Daniel Thomas, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop Elias Zaidan, chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace:
“God entrusts us with a responsibility to share our blessings to help preserve the lives and dignity of our brothers and sisters in need. We support robust funding for authentic lifesaving and life-affirming foreign assistance and applaud new policies that prevent taxpayer dollars from going to organizations that engage in ideological colonization and promote abortion or gender ideology overseas.”
The full USCCB statement is available here.