Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
President Biden’s administration is pressuring the government of Sierra Leone to adopt more permissive abortion policies in exchange for foreign aid, according to a report Monday.
The African nation currently bans abortion in most circumstances, but legislation before the country’s parliament would decriminalize the practice. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a funding distributor run by the US government, is reportedly threatening to withhold hundreds of millions in foreign aid funding if the abortion bill is not passed, a former senior US government official who has worked in the region. daily signal
MCC CEO Alice Albright signed an agreement with Sierra Leone’s Finance Minister Sheku Bangura in late September. The deal would see the country receive $480 million in foreign assistance as long as the country meets the MCC’s “rigorous standards of good governance, fight against corruption and respect for democratic rights.” The organization assesses compliance with Sierra Leone’s standards on an ongoing basis.
The MCC did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Fox News Digital. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who chairs the MCC board of directors, also did not respond.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will appear before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on 11 December 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Footage circulating on social media shows pro-life protesters demonstrating inside Sierra Leone’s parliament as lawmakers debated the legislation on Tuesday.
Pro-life activists in the country claim that President Julius Maada Bio fired his attorney general last week because the official refused to push the abortion law through parliament. Bio appointed Alpha Sesay as the new AG this week. Sesay is a recent former USAID employee and has advocated for the new abortion law on social media.
Rep. Chris Smith, RNJ, condemned reports of the lobbying campaign in a statement Monday.
“It is deeply disturbing, but not terribly surprising, that we are hearing reports that the Biden administration is threatening to withhold foreign assistance to Sierra Leone unless lawmakers pass the misleading ‘Safe Motherhood Act’ legislation that would legalize abortion in Sierra Leone. a country that currently protects unborn life,” he told the Signal.
President of Sierra Leone Julius Maada Bio. (Ali Balikci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Smith has done previously accused the Biden administration of “hijacking” a Bush-era program that delivered AIDS relief to Africa to promote its abortion agenda.
HIV INFECTIONS HAVE DECLINED IN RECENT YEARS, CDC SAYS, BUT AGENCY CALLS FOR MORE EQUITY
PEPFAR, the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, was launched in 2003 under President George W. Bush and has invested more than $100 billion in the fight against AIDS worldwide while saving 25 million lives and preventing millions of infections. says the State Department. PEPFAR was reauthorized by Congress last year.
“President Biden has hijacked PEPFAR, the $6 billion-a-year foreign aid program designed to mitigate HIV/AIDS in many targeted countries, mostly in Africa, to promote abortion on demand,” Smith told the his colleagues in a 2023 statement.
Rep. Chris Smith has accused the Biden administration of using foreign aid to push African countries toward permissive abortion laws. (Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Smith said two groups, Population Services International (PSI) and Village Reach, have received $96.5 million and $10.1 million, respectively, over the last few years of PEPFAR under Biden, and both groups have a track record of to promote abortion.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“PSI proudly proclaims that it offers abortion and pushes to eliminate pro-life laws,” Smith said. “PSI provides comprehensive post-abortion and abortion care services in nearly 20 countries worldwide.”
Andrew Mark Miller of Fox News contributed to this report.
