Asa Hutchinson: “because of the concerns of the Clinton administration's population assistance policy, this Congress added language that…”

“because of the concerns of the Clinton administration's population assistance policy, this Congress added language that requires any amount that the United Nations population fund spends on family planning programs in China be deducted from its total United States appropriation. Communist China has one of the worst human rights records in the world, promoting forced abortions and sterilizations to limit births. It is a country which has little regard for human life and, in particular, the lives of little baby girls. Press reports are filled with accounts of beautiful female children who are abandoned by their families because under China's one-child-per-family rule, male children are considered more desirable. This policy is and should be offensive to all civilized people. If the administration's resolution is passed by the Senate tomorrow, the American taxpayer will become an unwilling participant in China's outrageous practices because some of the $25 million designated for United Nations population fund will go to China. Without the Mexico City policy, the United States will be giving money to such countries and organizations which blatantly promote and support pro-abortion policies and procedures. This should be unacceptable to all of us. While I believe the United States can provide meaningful assistance to countries attempting to control their population growth, I adamantly oppose American taxpayer funding for abortion both home and abroad.”