WASHINGTON, D.C. — Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, commended President Trump on his decision to reinstate the Mexico City Policy today, prohibiting all funding of abortions overseas with foreign aid monies.
“The usage of taxpayer money to fund abortions is and always has been morally repugnant, and I applaud President Trump’s decision to reinstate the Mexico City Policy. This common sense policy protects conscience freedom and prevents taxpayer dollars from sponsoring abortions. Public funds should be used for protecting life and promoting human flourishing, not exploiting women and families. This decision will save lives, will encourage the hundreds of thousands of men and women who will march on Washington this week for the rights of unborn children, along with millions more around the country who believe that foreign aid should promote life, not end it. This is a welcome step in the right direction, and my hope is that the President will continue to defend human dignity and and hold the predatory abortion industry accountable.”
The reinstatement of the Mexico City Policy is one of many pro-life legislative initiatives included in the ERLC’s 2017 legislative agenda.
President Reagan first implemented the policy in August 1984, and it continued under President George H.W. Bush. President Clinton rescinded the policy on January 22, 1993, the 21st anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
President George W. Bush reinstated the policy on January 22, 2001 and President Obama rescinded it again on January 23, 2009.
With the policy in place, abortion providers are not only hindered in their promotion efforts, they are also less likely to be able to operate in foreign countries.
The Southern Baptist Convention is America’s largest Protestant denomination with more than 15.2 million members in over 46,000 churches nationwide. The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission is the SBC’s ethics, religious liberty and public policy agency with offices in Nashville, Tenn., and Washington, D.C.