Madrid, Spain, Sep 17, 2007 / 09:01 am
Fundacion Vida in Spain is criticizing that county’s government for contributing almost $7 million to the UN Population Fund to be used for controversial sexual and reproductive health programs in Latin America and Africa.
In the case of Latin America, the funds are earmarked for “the sexual and reproductive health of young people in vulnerable situations mainly in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Guatemala,” according to data from the Spanish government.
The president of Fundacion Vida, Conchita Gonzalez-Aller, said the organization “laments this contribution of $7 million dollars to the UN Population Fund, an entity opposed to the human right to life. One of the components of this right is the freedom of each woman to decide how many children she should have, without being coerced by institutions that impose undesired family planning methods, or having to resort to abortion.”
Gonzalez-Aller noted that the UN Population Fund is known for its promotion of abortion throughout the world as part of reproductive health. “The pressure from various institutions to get Latin America to legalize abortion is sad,” she said.
Instead of wasting these resources, she added, “they could be used to create new jobs in Latin America. Regarding Africa, it needs more children, who are the treasure of a family and of African society.”