(LifeSiteNews) – Republican senators are urging Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo to stand firm in the face of the Biden administration’s efforts to pressure him to withdraw support from a multinational declaration affirming there is no right to abortion.
Signed by 36 nations, the Geneva Consensus Declaration states that “every human being has the inherent right to life,” that “in no case should abortion be promoted as a method of family planning,” that “any measures or changes related to abortion within the health system can only be determined at the national or local level according to the national legislative process,” that “the child … needs special safeguards and care … before as well as after birth.”
The signatories affirm that “there is no international right to abortion, nor any obligation on the part of the States to finance or facilitate abortion, consistent with the long-standing international consensus that each nation has the sovereign right to implement programs and activities consistent with their laws and policies.”
President Joe Biden withdrew the United States from the declaration within days of taking office as part of its ongoing efforts to promote abortion-on-demand around the world.
The Center for Family & Human Rights (C-FAM) reported that the Biden administration is using the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review of countries’ human-rights records as an occasion to urge nations to withdraw from the declaration, prompting a letter to Arévalo signed by Republican U.S. Sens. Steve Daines of Montana, James Lankford of Oklahoma, and Lindsay Graham of South Carolina urging him to remain in the declaration.
“As you know, Guatemala serves as a regional leader for the GCD – giving Guatemala the unique opportunity to host pilot projects and other initiatives centered around expanding health for women and families, both in Guatemala and in the region,” the lawmakers state. “For example, the First Lady of Uganda, the GCD regional leader for Africa, recently partnered with the Institute for Women’s Health for the global launch of the Protego Women’s Optimal Health Framework, a high-level event attended by senior representatives of eight other African countries to promote high-impact, low-cost strategies to improve health for women across Africa. Similar non-political leadership opportunities are available to GCD leaders.”
“The GCD’s broad and diverse membership attests to the reality that its values transcend geographic bounds and are foundational to every society,” they add. “As members of the United States Senate, we strongly encourage you to remain in the GCD to further build upon the progress Guatemala has made to strengthen its stature as a key partner to the United States.”
“The U.S. Government should not threaten, cajole, or pressure countries to leave this historic coalition,” commented Valerie Huber, former chief of staff for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health in the Trump administration and architect of the GCD. “To do so misuses the influence of the U.S., dramatically increases anti-American sentiment in countries that should be allies and disrespects the sovereign right of countries to hold different views on issues for which, even in the U.S., there is not consensus.”
On top of pursuing a “whole-of-government” agenda to support abortion-on-demand domestically, the Biden administration has also revoked the Mexico City Policy preventing foreign aid dollars from being put toward abortions and called for increased funding of programs that facilitate abortions around the world, including the radical United Nations Population Fund.