The Mexico City Policy: Getting It Straight

Zoe Romanowski clarifies the Mexico City Policy:

... The Mexico City Policy (MCP) was an intermittent U.S. policy requiring all non-governmental organizations that receive federal funding to refrain from providing or promoting abortion services in foreign countries (apart from the cases of rape, incest, or life of the mother). When MCP went into effect eight years ago, the International Planned Parenthood Federation and Marie Stopes chose to decline federal funding instead of ending their abortion services and referrals. Since that time, they've been forced to pay for all of their services through private donations and have as a result been significantly weakened.

With the repeal of the MCP, they will once again receive federal funding, though not directly for abortion. Korzen is correct that the Helms Amendment of 1973 (not to be confused with the Hyde Amendment) prohibits U.S. tax payers' money from directly funding abortion in other countries.

However, refunding these groups even for non-abortion related services frees up the private monies they were forced to use to operate the past eight years. In other words, these organization are now able to pour their own funds back into abortion services and use the U.S. public money to fund the rest of their work. The president's repeal will strengthen international organizations who provide abortion while not directly funding those abortions.

(emphasis added)

My Comments:
Money is fungible. If Planned Parenthood et al have X amount of dollars and it costs X amount to fund abortions overseas and X amount to provide "educational" programs overseas, if we give Planned Parenthood X amount of dollars for their "educational" activities, it frees up X amount of dollars to fund abortions.

It doesn't take a genius to know that if you fund abortion providers, you're at least indirectly funding abortions.


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Perhaps, One Day ...

Obama Culture of Death Update™: Among President Obama's First Official Acts is Promoting Abortion Abroad [UPDATED]