It’s raining blood
I keep waiting for John Kerry to mention this, and to myknowledge he has not yet done so
I’m referring to one of the worst crimes committed by theBush administration, and also one of the most inexplicable.
It’s part of a broader pattern of actions that some havetermed the “War on Women,” but this is probably themost egregious example.
In July of 2002, the Bush administration cut off funding to theUnited Nations Population Fund.
This cutoff of $34 million came as something of a surprise. Theagreement to fund the UNFPA had been approved unanimously in theSenate, and by a 3-1 margin in the House of Representatives.
Earlier in Bush’s term, the UNFPA had been funded, andSecretary of State Colin Powell testified before Congress that theUNFPA “provides critical population assistance to developingcountries.” After the war began in Afghanistan, the U.S.provided the UNFPA with some additional emergency money to aidtheir work in the country.
At some point, however, a small anti-family planningorganization began propagating the lie that the UNFPA was involvedin China’s program of coerced abortions and sterilizations.This led to the administration’s change in position.
If the UNFPA was actually involved in coercive activities, Bushmay have had a point. This is simply not the case. The Bushadministration selected a three-person team to travel to China andinvestigate these allegations.
This team reported that the allegations were completely false,and that the funding should continue. Nevertheless, despite theinvestigators’ findings, bipartisan Congressional approval,and widespread recommendation from qualified experts, the money wascut.
The human cost of this funding cut is immense. The UNFPA isinvolved in worldwide efforts to promote family planning andprevent unplanned pregnancies, to help ensure safe pregnancies andbirths, to combat sexually transmitted infections and to preventviolence against women.
It has been estimated that, had the UNFPA received the moneyappropriated by Congress in the past two years, the agency couldhave prevented 4 million unwanted pregnancies, 1.6 million inducedabortions and the deaths of 9,400 women and over 154,000 children.Those statistics are the UNFPA’s own, so if you think theymay be on the high side, reduce them by half. It’s still anoutrage.
Look over those figures again and see if you have the samequestions as I. For instance, why exactly did this happen?
Bush has installed dozens of extremist reactionary religiousfundamentalists in key positions related to reproductive and sexualhealth.
Their influence is reflected in the increasingly roguishpolicies on such matters undertaken by the administration ininternational relations. This, however, is in another category ofseverity altogether.
Why was this decision not publicized more widely?
One might be tempted to think that a “liberal media”would publicize this sort of thing widely, but it does not seem tohave happened. The worst crimes of many presidentialadministrations have gone largely unreported, and Bush has gottenluckier than most.
Why is this not an impeachable offense? Why do opponents ofabortion promote policies that will only lead to more potentiallyunsafe abortions?
Why, to my knowledge, has John Kerry (or any of the otherdemocratic presidential contenders) not used this issue on thecampaign trail to blast Bush?
Perhaps most importantly, how is this action of the Bushadministration any different from Saddam Hussein (or anybody else,for that matter) ordering the execution of his politicalopponents?
Surely they had to have some idea what the likely results wouldbe. In this case, the pen was just as deadly as the sword, gun orcontainer of poison gas.
Shortly after the funding was cut, two women, Lois Abraham andJane Roberts, started a grassroots campaign to try and recoup someof the lost funds. Through their organization, 34 Million Friends,they have managed to raise almost two million dollars. It’s astart.
Scott Charney is a senior history and English major. He maybe reached at [email protected].
