Liberals pledge $20M for sexual health, abortion
OTTAWA— The federal government is pledging up to $20 million to fund sexual-health and abortion-related projects as part of an international campaign to fill a gap created by U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to ban U.S. funding for abortionrelated programs.
The money will go to five organizations, including the International Planned Parenthood Federation, and be spent in the coming 12 months on contraceptives, family planning and comprehensive sexuality education, abortion services where legal and access to post-abortion care.
International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said funding sexual education and abortion where it is legal is a matter of human rights.
“The idea is really to give women the choice,” Bibeau told reporters in a conference call from Brussels. “We’re not forcing anyone into it.
“Having the control over our own body is, to me, the first step for women’s rights and it’s a matter of choice and having access to the information, the services and the supplies.”
Aid agency Save the Children welcomed the pledge, saying that the money could help save the lives of women, adolescents and girls in the most remote regions of the world.
An anti-abortion group, Campaign Life Coalition, called on the government to redirect the money to better nutrition, clean water, medicine and safe deliveries overseas. The group said in a release that the money signalled an abandonment of the country’s previous commitment to improving maternal health.
An aid agency said it welcomed any financial help, but warned that if the country is really serious about helping women in the developing world, it must increase the overall amount it spends on international aid.