On Monday, (23/09) Secretary of State for International Development, Alok Sharma MP, announced to the UN that the Department for International Development (DFID) would be providing an additional £600 million of taxpayer money for “family planning”, which will include funding abortions.
This pledge is the UK Government’s largest ever stand-alone spend of taxpayer money in this area and comes on top of the £1.1 billion already pledged over a 5 year period beginning in 2017.
Both of these large sums of money while ostensibly used for “family planning” will also be used to fund abortions overseas.
The Government’s announcement has been made following a recent Independent Commission for Aid Impact report which condemned DFID for favouring abortion funding at the expense of strengthening the delivery of quality maternal care programmes.
The British Goverment is the largest single donor to international abortion provider, Marie Stopes International (MSI), who is currently under scrutiny for rewarding its chief executive, Simon Cooke, a total salary package in excess of £400,000.
MSI performed almost 5 million abortions in 2018. It has had its funding from the UK taxpayer increased by over 5,000% in the last 12 years, up to over £48,000,000 in 2018, making the UK taxpayer the largest donor to the organisation.
However, polling shows that there is little public support for tax payer’s money being spent in this manner with 65% of the British population opposed to this money be used to fund abortions overseas.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK Catherine Robinson said:
“Time and again the Department for International Development have pledged large sums of money for ‘family planning’ internationally, and time and again, this money has also be used to fund abortions.”
“There is no internationally recognised right to abortion, and the British Government, along with the UN, should not be acting as if there is. Many countries do not share the British Government’s views on abortion. They do not recognise abortion as a right to be promoted.”
“The British public does not want its taxes being used in this way. 65% have stated they are opposed to their taxes being used to fund overseas abortions.”
“This is nothing short of neo-colonialism, where the British Government is using its resources to fund abortions in foreign nations.”
