Mike Pompeo says abortion isn't a human right, tries to honor God's calling
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made it clear at a recent event that the Trump administration disagrees with the international push to make abortion a human right. He also stated that he tries to make decisions based on God’s truth.
“Abortion quite simply isn’t a human right,” Pompeo declared during an appearance at the Family Leadership Summit in Iowa last week. “It takes a life.” He maintained that “this administration appreciates and knows that our rights come from God, not government.”
“America sets the tone for the rest of the world in this respect, and our administration has defended the rights of unborn like no other administration in history.”
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Citing Psalm 139 (“You knit me together in my mother’s womb”), he stated, “This is when life begins, full stop.”
Pompeo highlighted the administration’s “100% pro-life foreign policy,” including the reinstatement of the Mexico City policy, which ensures that “not a single dime of American taxpayer money will ever go to a foreign NGO that performs active abortions anywhere in the world.” Trump’s predecessor, former President Barack Obama, repealed the Mexico City policy upon succeeding pro-life President George W. Bush in 2009.
Pompeo also brought up the State Department’s collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services to mobilize 20 countries “to deliver a joint statement at the U.N. criticizing pro-abortion language in U.N. documents.” This effort came ahead of the 74th Session of the U.N. General Assembly last September. Countries who signed the statement included Brazil, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
At the time, President Trump slammed the global promotion of abortion orchestrated by the intergovernmental organization.
“We are aware that many United Nations projects have attempted to assert a global right to taxpayer-funded abortion, right up until the moment of birth,” he said as he addressed members of the U.N. General Assembly. “Global bureaucrats have absolutely no business attacking the sovereignty of nations that wish to protect innocent life.”
Months later, the Trump administration’s efforts to reframe the international abortion debate continued. In May, the United States issued a statement pushing back against the inclusion of language pertaining to “sexual and reproductive health” in a resolution drafted by members of the World Health Assembly related to the coronavirus.
“There is no international right to abortion, nor is there any duty on the part of the state to finance or facilitate abortion,” the statement read. “We do not accept references to ‘sexual and reproductive health,’ or other language that suggests or explicitly states that access to abortion is included in the provision of population and individual level health services.”
During his speech in Iowa last week, Pompeo also spoke of their work to defend religious freedom, noting that his department has “instituted new religious freedom training programs for thousands of our foreign service officers” and hosted the “Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom.”
He frequently referenced his Christian faith, stressing that “God has entrusted this position to me for this time. And I feel every day the duty to honor that calling.”
“I think too about my responsibilities in light of the biblical call to be a good steward of whatever you have. 1 Corinthians 4 says that: 'Those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.’
“Stewarding my position well also means making decisions based on the truth. Our God is indeed a god of truth. And we should every day seek to reflect His character in that regard.”
