An AIDS relief program stands to lose its funding after U.S. officials say four nurses operating under the program were found to be committing abortions in Mozambique, in violation of U.S. law.
According to Reuters, providers that receive funding under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) are prohibited from providing abortions. However, a review of the AIDS/HIV program operating in Mozambique discovered that the nurses had committed 21 abortions since January 2021. It was the first time such a violation has been reported.
The abortion discovery was presented by the State Department to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee this week. Now, the program is at risk due to its funding of the killing of preborn children.
“This violation means that the future of the PEPFAR program is certainly in jeopardy,” said Republican Senator Jim Risch, chairman of the committee, which oversees the program. “I will not support one dollar of American money going towards abortion anywhere in the world, and I will do all I can to ensure this never happens again.”
The PEPFAR program was established under President George W. Bush, and is said to have saved more than 25 million lives. It received broad bipartisan support until 2023, when the Biden administration signaled its willingness to start committing abortions under the program’s umbrella. That attempt received strong pushback from Republicans, who managed to protect the program with additional safeguards meant to ensure it would not be covering abortions. Since that time, however, Republicans have been leery of granting the program long-term funding, and in March of 2024 they renewed it for just one year.
Following the discovery, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast called for further action to ensure that no more money funds abortions.
“It is disgraceful and unacceptable that PEPFAR and the Centers for Disease Control diverted American tax dollars to fund abortions in Mozambique,” Mast said in a statement. “We need to know where else PEPFAR funds have been illegally rerouted. The State Department and CDC must investigate to ensure that not one penny of PEPFAR goes toward abortion.”
Tell President Trump, RFK, Jr., Elon, and Vivek:
Stop killing America’s future. Defund Planned Parenthood NOW!
