Senator Jim Banks (R-IN) has asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to investigate reports that the Biden administration tried to pressure a foreign nation into adopting radical pro-abortion legislation in exchange for aid.
A December 2024 report from The Daily Signal showed that the Biden administration was pressuring Sierra Leone to pass a pro-abortion bill, deceptively named the ‘Safe Motherhood Act,’ in order to receive aid for affordable electricity through the Sierra Leone Compact.
The so-called Safe Motherhood Act would legalize abortion up to 14 weeks for any reason and up to birth to protect the “mental health of the woman.” Abortion to save a woman’s life is already legal in Sierra Leone.
The letter cites The Daily Signal’s Dec. 16 report that the Biden administration was pressuring Sierra Leone to pass an unpopular pro-abortion bill before Donald Trump took office.
It is common knowledge among nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, in Sierra Leone that a U.S. foreign aid agency called the Millennium Challenge Corporation is threatening to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars from a U.S. agreement with Sierra Leone unless the West African country’s parliament passes the bill decriminalizing abortion, a former senior U.S. government official who has worked in the West African region told The Daily Signal. Millennium Challenge Corporation denies this.
In his letter to Secretary Rubio, Banks requested Rubio look into the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).
Banks writes, “I write to you regarding the Millennium Challenge Corporations (MCC) actions under the Biden administration to pressure foreign nations to adopt pro-abortion legislation or risk losing their aid. Radical bureaucrats have weaponized American aid to strong-arm poor countries into conforming to their abortion agenda and I hope to see a thorough investigation into the MCC.”
“Reports suggest that the MCC is threatening to withhold assistance under Sierra Leone’s Compact if the country’s legislature fails to pass the Safe Motherhood Act. This radical and unpopular bill would legalize abortion up to 14 weeks for any reason, and until birth if deemed necessary to ‘protect the mental health of the woman.’ Holding assistance hostage for the sake of pressuring another nation to adopt pro-abortion legislation is shameful and wrong.”
“It is unconscionable that the United States has used the MCC to threaten the Sierra Leonean’s protection for the unborn.”
Banks then asked for answers to the following quetions:
1.Did anyone from the MCC work or coordinate with members of Sierra Leone’s government on the Safe Motherhood Act? If so,
a.What was the relationship and content of the discussions?
b.In discussions on the Safe Motherhood Act, was the country’s qualifications for MCC aid ever mentioned?
2. Has ‘Freedom House’ been used to consider the Sierra Leone’s qualifications for MCC aid?
a.If so, in what capacity?
3.If Sierra Leone refused to pass the Safe Motherhood Act, will that impact Sierra Leone’s qualifications for MCC aid?
4.Have any funds been withheld or delayed in the Sierra Leone Compact?
5.Will you reaffirm the United States’ support for respecting foreign countries’ protections for the unborn?
The Biden admin used taxpayer dollars to push their radical pro-abortion agenda on foreign countries.
I have no doubt @marcorubio will put a stop to this.https://t.co/zIFt8MOUXL
— Senator Jim Banks (@SenatorBanks) January 30, 2025
Read the full letter below:
2025.01.30 Letter to Secret… by adam
The post Sen. Banks Asks Secretary of State Rubio to Investigate Reports Biden Administration Tried to Force Radical Abortion on Foreign Country In Exchange for Aid appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.