African leaders representing fifteen nations have signed a letter to Congress. They first thanked the US for our generosity in the global effort to fight HIV and AIDS but they had an urgent request. When this funding was established twenty years ago, it promoted abstinence and fidelity and required a pledge from the recipient nations not to legalize prostitution. Now President Biden’s funding increasingly integrates abortion and the nations are pushing back. The letter to Congress requested that the US “be respectful of our beliefs” noting that abortion “violate[s] our core beliefs concerning life, family, and religion. The letter also requests that US funding “remain true to its original mission and respect for our norms, tradition, and values.”
This post originally appeared at https://lifeissues.org/2023/07/african-nations-push-back/