EXCLUSIVE: Republican Senators to Introduce Measure Prohibiting Use of U.S. Foreign Aid Funds for Abortions
Exclusive to Fox News Digital, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Republican senators are set to roll out a measure that would prohibit the use of U.S. foreign aid funds for abortions. The bill, titled “the American Values Act,” would permanently enact and expand existing prohibitions on the use of U.S. foreign assistance to pay for the performance or promotion of abortion services overseas.
The bill would restrict the use of foreign assistance funds to perform abortions, promote or lobby for or against abortions and force sterilization. Additionally, it would ensure that U.S. foreign aid funds cannot be used for biomedical research relating to abortions.
The bill would also permanently restrict funds to organizations that support or participate in the management of a program of “coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.” It would also permanently enact restrictions on the use of funds made available to the Peace Corps to pay for abortions.
“This is a chance for us to hold our government accountable to the standard of American values and to protect the sanctity of life across the globe,” Risch told Fox News Digital.
The legislation is co-sponsored by other Republican senators, including Roger Marshall of Kansas, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Rick Scott of Florida, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Steve Daines of Montana, Tim Scott of Montana, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska.
The introduction of the bill comes after President Donald Trump’s order to freeze funding flowing from federal agencies that would go towards “woke” initiatives and the “weaponization of government” to improve government efficiency. The White House recently pulled millions in funding for “condoms in Gaza” as part of its efforts to reduce wasteful spending.
