President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York as his pick for Ambassador to the United Nations.
“I am honored to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter,” Trump said in a statement.
If appointed to the position, Stefanik, the House Republican Conference chair, would represent U.S. interests at the UN, keeping the U.S. State Department informed of events at the UN and making recommendations to the State Department and the president regarding what action the U.S. should take on UN matters. This would include the issues of abortion and abortion funding in foreign nations.
During Trump’s previous presidency, his administration scaled back support for the UN and reinstated the Mexico City Policy, which prohibits nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) funded by the U.S. from committing abortions, providing information or referrals for abortion, or advocating for the expansion of pro-abortion laws in foreign nations. The Trump administration renamed the policy “Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance.”
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In addition, the UN drafts a resolution annually that summarizes the priorities it hopes member states will promote regarding human rights and humanitarian aid. For nearly a decade, these priorities have included abortion under the umbrella of “sexual and reproductive health-care services.”
Under the Biden-Harris Administration, UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said it was “a personal priority” for her to lead the way in ensuring women have access to “a full range of reproductive health services” — in other words, abortion. She worked to help undo the previous Trump Administration’s pro-life policies.
Stefanik, Trump’s pick for UN Ambassador, has a pro-life record and considers herself pro-life “with exceptions.” In 2022, she co-sponsored the Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act. Because of these things, there is at least a chance that the pro-life policies torn down by the Biden-Harris administration could be reinstated, with the United States giving support to countries that support pro-life policies and stand against the promotion of abortion.
During the early 2024 election season, Stefanik told The New York Post, “I am pro-life with the exceptions of rape, incest, and life of the mother. This is a position supported by a majority of Americans. As Republicans, we must speak loudly and clearly in support of families, women, and children on this moral issue and not allow Democrats and their stenographers in the mainstream media to lie about our positions.”
She urged others not to back down from their pro-life-leaning positions on abortion. Stefanik has earned an A+ rating from the Susan B. Anthony List for her pro-life efforts, which have included sponsoring the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, and voting in favor of the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2015 and the Conscience Protection Act of 2016. She also voted against pro-abortion legislation, including the deceptively-named Women’s Health Protection Act and the Ensuring Access to Abortion Act.
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