Bush Administration Withholds Funding For International Health Conference

Bush Administration officials rescinded funding for an international health conference because Republican staff members and right-wing groups such as the Traditional Values Coalition complained that the conference promotes abortion.

According to the Washington Post, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) withdrew funding for the Global Health Council’s conference entitled “Youth and Health: Generation on the Edge.” House Republican aides sent an email to anti-choice groups stating that they found the conference to be “outrageous” because they believe one of the groups speaking at the conference, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), “performs abortions” and helps “the communist Chinese force them on women.” These accusations were proven false by the Bush Administration’s own experts who investigated and cleared the UNFPA of abuses in its programs in China.

The four-day conference would include a diverse set of issues.

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Media Resources: Washington Post 4/27/04; Washington Times 4/26/04

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