Funding the International
Planned Parenthood Federation to kill babies: your tax dollars at work through
Australia’s “Overseas Development Assistance” program
Persistent
questioning through successive estimates hearings of the Department of Foreign
Affairs and Trade (DFAT) by prolife Labor Senator for Western Australia,
Senator Joe Bullock has led to further details of Australia’s funding of the
international abortion giant IPPF (International Planned Parenthood Federation)
becoming public.
On 30
May 2015 the Australian Government gave $5 million to the International Planned
Parenthood Federation as untied core funding. Funds may be distributed to
IPPF’s member associations, with a “primary focus” in the Asia and Pacific
regions. The purpose of the funding is to support the implementation of the
IPPF Strategic Framework 2005-2015 and its successor Strategic Framework
2016-2022.
A key
focus of the IPPF Strategic Framework 2005-2015 was to increase the direct provision of abortion by its member
associations as well as advocating for change to laws that restricted access to
abortion in any way.
In its
2014-15 annual performance report IPPF reports providing 977,189 abortions (544,080 surgical and 433,109 medical) in 2014 up
11.69% from 2013. The report also notes that IPPF and its members associations
contributed to “19 [policy or
legislative] changes [that] promoted or defended the rights of women who choose
to terminate an unwanted pregnancy”.
The
2016-2022 Strategic Framework also aims to continue to “scale up the provision of an essential package of high quality
sexual and reproductive health services that are rights-based, client-centred,
gender sensitive and youth friendly”. IPPF considers the provision of surgical and medical abortion an important
part of an essential package of sexual and reproductive health services.
In addition to the $5 million given for
core funding of IPPF in 2015, Australia is also providing $5 million from June
2012 to June 2016 to IPPF to run SPRINT: Sexual
and Reproductive Health (SRH) Programme in Crisis and Post-Crisis Situations.
SPRINT includes the provision of manual vacuum aspiration abortions (up to 12
weeks of pregnancy) as well as an emphasis on long acting contraceptives, all
of which have an abortifacient component.
A
further $4.5 million has been allocated from December 2014 to December 2017 to
the Regional Partnerships for Reproductive Health Program (Pacific) to fund
IPPF member associations in 8 Pacific nations – Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati,
Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu – to extend the
reach of their activities. In 2013 some 4,522 abortion related services were
performed by IPPF member associations in these countries. IPPF – and the
Australian Government – want to increase the provision of abortion in the
Pacific region. $2.5 million has already been given to this program in 2014-15
with a further $1 million to be given in 2015-16 and the final $1 million in
2016-17.
These
payments – totalling $14.5 million – are the subject of existing contracts
between DFAT and the IPPF.
However,
the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is “currently preparing to negotiate a new core funding agreement with IPPF”.
Such
funding would simply help IPPF member associations (i) increase the number of abortions performed in developing countries
in the Asia and Pacific regions and (ii) continue to advocate for the removal of all restrictions on access
to abortion in these countries.
ACTION:
Contact
your MHR (call the Australian Electoral Commission on 13 23 26 to check your
electorate) and ask them to call on the Treasurer, Hon Scott Morrison and the
Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon Julie Bishop, to cease all funding of
abortion using overseas aid.
You can
write to any MHR at PO Box 6022, Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600 or
email them at the address below.
Mr Ian Goodenough, Member for Moore
Hon Gary Gray, Member for Brand
Mr Andrew Hastie, Member for Canning
Mr Steve Irons, Member for Swan
Dr Dennis Jensen, Member for Tangney
Hon Michael Keenan, Member for Stirling
Hon Alannah MacTiernan, Member for Perth
Ms Nola Marino, Member for Forrest
Ms Melissa Parkes, Member for Fremantle
Hon Christian Porter, Member for Pearce
Ms Melissa Price, Member for Durack
Mr Luke Simpkins, Member for Cowan
Mr Rick Wilson, Member for O’Connor
Hon Ken Wyatt, Member for Hasluck
