Melinda Gates' Statement that Foundation Does Not Fund Abortion Praised by Pro-Life Groups, Other Projects Criticized
While some pro-life groups have praised Melinda Gates' announcement earlier in June that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation does not fund abortion, others have argued that the charitable organization still supports abortifacients in certain projects.
"Abortion is a procedure that not only compromises both the dignity and the development of the unborn but also raises a host of problems for women," Leah Bromberg, communications director for World Youth Alliance, told Catholic News Agency on Tuesday.
Bromberg agreed with Gates that including abortion in human development plans "slows progress for tens of millions of women," and said that the practice is a "selective procedure that should not be conflated with women's reproductive health. She said that her group "applaud[s] Melinda Gates' decision to separate the two terms through her Foundation's decision."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
CNA pointed out, however, that as part of its reproductive health initiatives, up to 2013 the Foundation provided $71 million to the International Planned Parenthood Federation and other Planned Parenthood affiliates.
Austin Ruse, president of C-FAM, a Catholic Human Rights and international watchdog organization, said that he is not aware that the Gates Foundation was ever involved in directly funding abortion, but noted that it helps spread "UN-style family planning which includes abortifacients."
"Moreover, as long as the Gates foundation is involved with international Planned Parenthood Federation as an integral partner in their work then they are clearly involved with abortion," Ruse added.
Still, he praised Gates' direction to distance herself "from the nasty business of abortion," saying her decision "shows how far the country has come."
Father Shenan J. Boquet, president of Human Life International, even said that the claim that the Gates Foundation does not fund abortion is an "an outright deception," according to LifeSiteNews.
"While Ms. Gates claims to only be focused on contraceptives, what is often not discussed in public about these drugs and devices – and certainly not disclosed to the women in the developing world who receive Ms. Gates' contraceptives – is their potential to cause abortions at the earliest stage of pregnancy," Boquet observed.
"Conception can still, and often does, occur even when these methods are being used, and that new life in the womb is then destroyed due to their effects on a woman's body."
In a blog post earlier in June, reflecting on a recent overseas trip, Gates wrote: "I understand why there is so much emotion, but conflating these issues will slow down progress for tens of millions of women. That is why when I get asked about my views on abortion, I say that, like everyone, I struggle with the issue, but I've decided not to engage on it publicly – and the Gates Foundation has decided not to fund abortion."
She added: "The question of abortion should be dealt with separately. But in the United States and around the world the emotional and personal debate about abortion is threatening to get in the way of the lifesaving consensus regarding basic family planning."
The Gates Foundation, founded in 2000, has donated money and established programs for various causes on a global stage, becoming one of the most charitable private foundations in the world.
The philanthropist, a Roman Catholic, has admitted that there are some initiatives funded by her Foundation that clash with the official doctrine of her faith.
"Even though I am Catholic I believe in contraceptives, just like the majority of Catholic women in the United States who report using contraceptives, and I shouldn't let that controversy be the thing that holds us back," Gates said in an interview in March about funding contraceptives in the global fight against AIDS.
