Republicans Stop Democrat Amendment to Fund Abortions Overseas

House Republicans successfully blocked a Democrat amendment that would have repealed pro-life protections in the Fiscal Year 2026 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill, preserving long-standing policies that prevent U.S. taxpayer funds from supporting abortions overseas.

The bill, advanced by the House Appropriations Committee on July 24, maintains robust pro-life safeguards, including the Helms Amendment, which prohibits foreign aid from funding abortions, and the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance Policy, an expanded version of the Mexico City Policy that bars funding to foreign organizations promoting or performing abortions.

“The ineffectiveness and egregious failures of the United Nations and UN bodies do not merit support based on the goals and priorities of this bill and based on the goals and priorities of the people of the United States,” said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., chairman of the appropriations subcommittee for State and Foreign Operations.

Democrats, led by Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., proposed an amendment to strip these protections, aiming to restore funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and other programs critics say promote abortion globally.

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The amendment failed, with the bill passing the subcommittee by a voice vote along party lines, supported by all Republicans and opposed by all Democrats.

Representative Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL), the chairman of the appropriations subcommittee which drafted the bill, urged his fellow representatives to oppose the Wasserman Schultz amendment.  “It is our duty to strengthen not weaken pro-life protections in our bill. Americans do not support using foreign assistance to fund abortions.”

Representative Robert Aderholt (R-AL) joined him, reminding the committee of the history of the Mexico City Policy and the fact that Democratic President Joe Biden had not only rescinded the pro-life policy, but violated longstanding U.S. law by allowing U.S. funds to be used for abortion abroad. In January it was discovered that the Center for Disease Control violated the Helms Amendment by using U.S. taxpayer dollars from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to fund abortion services in Mozambique.

Aderholt noted that according to a Marist poll, 78% of Americans, including 61% of Democrats, oppose the funding of overseas abortion. The pro-abortion amendment failed in a 26-33 vote in the committee.

Pro-life groups hailed the outcome as a victory.

The Trump administration has fully implemented the defunding of the UNFPA that it announced back in March and announced later that no new funding will the directed to it. And the pro-abortion agency is unhappy.

As LifeNews reported then, Trump has ordered the defunding of the UNFPA, a United Nations population control agency which promotes abortions worldwide.

This is a continuation of his pro-life policy from his previous administration. In 2017, Trump signed an executive order defunding the UN population group because it pushes abortions on other countries and has worked with China for decades to implement its forced abortion population control policies.

Trump officials previously informed the UN Population Fund that nearly all of its grants would be discontinued. That defunding has taken place – with some $335 million in taxpayer funds yanked from the pro-abortion UN agency. Now, Trump officials have informed the UN group that new funding will not take place in future years.

Trump signed an executive order reinstating the “Mexico City Policy,” which prohibits taxpayer funding of groups like International Planned Parenthood that promote and perform abortions in other nations.

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