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Health & Fitness

Abortion Promotion Abroad Generates Questions

Why is the USA actively and financially promoting abortion in other countries?

“The USA is behind making abortions legal,” the lady standing at the church podium said.

That comment got my attention. My writing about how the world views Americans just left for Patch editor Jason Alexander’s consideration for publication. Now I heard that Americans are being accused of promoting abortions.

The young lady in her mid 30’s caught my eye when she entered the building pushing a stroller with a small baby in it. After Communion the priest invited her to address the packed church. She spoke in a very knowledgeable articulate manner. I found out later that the speaker was only one of many addressing churches across Colombia, which is 95 percent Catholic.

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The country already has on the books laws about abortions for rape victims and life-saving situations. Now, according to the speaker, some congress members are trying to make choice abortions legal. American corporations were stated as being ready to pounce on Colombia with clinics, medical apparatus and medicine. The speaker did not hint at it, she stated it emphatically that Americans were spending massive amounts of money to buy political influence to get the law passed.

My mind went into questioning mode. Would we do that? Both CNN and Gallop polls show that the majority of Americans are against abortion, especially abortions of choice. The United States has the Mexico City policy which states that our tax dollars cannot be spent to support changes to abortion laws overseas. Really, would U.S. corporations be so greedy that they would jump into bed with corrupt politicians to promote abortion?

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Over coffee, after church, my wife tolerated the time I used to formulate a plan to refute the ludicrous portrayal of Americans. Note filled napkins littered the table. The priest and church would be hearing from me for allowing someone to spread such inflammatory claims against my fellow countrymen.

Back at home research began. After days of Internet searches, reading many reports and double checking facts with people in other places, disappointment descended upon me. The speaker spoke the truth.

What became evident was there was very little about it in the American media. Much of the reports came from foreign countries. Then I found this article from Diane Dew; that explained much. She was fired from her job with a major American newspaper because she refused to sign a paper stating that she could not “write about or discuss the issue of abortion, even one-on-one, even in church.”

The Concerned Women for America wrote at the beginning of one of their articles, “This week Congress voted to allow funding organizations that promote and perform abortions in other countries…” Joseph D’Agostino wrote in a piece for Population Research Institute that in regards to our government`s Mexico City policy that the “provision of law is often circumvented,” with tens of million of our tax dollars funding pro-abortion groups in countries that have laws against abortions. He cited examples. Carlos Polo wrote a piece for the same group titled, “New Methods of Promoting Abortion in Latin America.” The article provided examples of how this slight-of-hand is done. The Catholic News Agency checked IRS documents and revealed that a U.S. abortion advocacy group called Catholics for a Free Choice in Washington D.C. (not a Catholic Organization according to the news agency) spent over $13 million pushing legalization of abortions in Latin America. The article mentioned some of the places donating to the cause are The Playboy Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Mac Arthur Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

My research revealed that the above is a mere tip of the iceberg in regards to legal, questionable and sometimes illegal actions by the government, corporations and individuals to legalize abortions around the world. I could find no evidence of any other country going outside their borders promoting abortion.

I grabbed a cup of coffee, sat down at the information strewn dining room table and tried to wrap my head around it all. After considerable time, with a coffee turned cold, my hand started moving. But what the pen put to paper was not answers but more questions.

Why is the USA seemingly the only country in the world actively and financially supporting abortion outside its borders? Even if the majority of Americans were for choice abortions, should we push our beliefs in other countries, especially in heavy Catholic countries? What image of us are we sending to the world with these actions? In my previous writing regarding what others in the world thought about us a person left a comment of, “Personally, I don’t care.” Is that it, most Americans don’t care what the other inhabitants of the Earth think of them? Is it possible that corporate profit trumps what is considered murder by the majority of Americans? Why aren’t the tens of millions of dollars spent on relationship education and sexual education rather than lining the pockets of corrupt politicians to pass laws legalizing abortion? Isn’t prevention and education better, or is it the fact that there is no profit in prevention? Are we doing what is best for the people or doing what is best to turn a buck?

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