Analysis
NEW YORK, July 30, 2015 (
LifeSiteNews)
- Until the eve of his presidential campaign, Jeb Bush was director of a
philanthropy that gave tens of millions of dollars to Planned
Parenthood and financed its advocacy of "unrestricted access
to abortion" around the world. The charity also approved money to global
abortion providers while he sat on its board.
In 2010, Jeb was
named one
of the founding directors of the Bloomberg Family
Foundation, established as a tax-exempt foundation to advance the
vision of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He resigned from
the board at the end of 2014 to prepare his presidential campaign.
While a Bush spokesman has responded to concerns by saying that Bush
would not have voted on every initiative of the foundation, a pro-life
leader told LifeSiteNews it "stretches credibility" that Bush was
unaware of the foundation's pro-abortion work, given the centrality of
such work to the foundation's mission, and its scope.
LifeSiteNews reached out to Bush for comment, but did not hear back by press time.
$50 million to 'reproductive health' and Planned Parenthood
In March of 2014, the Bloomberg Philanthropies announced a
$50 million undertaking to expand "reproductive health," including lobbying foreign nations to loosen restrictions on abortion.
Bloomberg announced a major partnership with Planned
Parenthood-Global to train and equip abortion activists in pro-life
countries.
"In 2014, we started supporting local nonprofit organizations in
Burkina Faso, Senegal, Uganda, and Nicaragua to advocate for better
policies in their countries that will expand access to comprehensive
reproductive health services," the foundation
stated.
"These organizations will receive technical assistance from Planned
Parenthood Federation of America – Global Division to help augment their
capacity for effective advocacy."
Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards greeted the news by
saying that "governments need to play a stronger role to ensure that all
women have access to the health care they need" - including abortion -
"no matter who they are, no matter where they live.”
Bloomberg clarified how the partnership would work while
receiving Planned Parenthood's Global Citizen Award at its annual gala last March 27.
"
We'll Push for Less Restrictive Abortion Laws"
"I am happy to say our major partner in this project will be Planned
Parenthood - Global," Bloomberg said. "In some countries, our funding
will help advocates work towards better sexual health policies for teens
and better access to contraceptives. In others, we'll help push for
less restrictive abortion laws and more government funding for
high-quality, accessible services."
Such advocacy was "necessary," he continued, because "there are
plenty of outside interest groups funding the other side of these
issues, and we cannot let them go unanswered."
"This is a fight to women control their own destinies," Bloomberg
said. "And let me tell you: We are in it to help them win it, and we're
gonna stay in it until they do."
"Together we can succeed," he concluded. "Thank you for this award. God bless."
As head of a foundation with
$5.4 billion in assets, which awards more than $200 million a year, the three-term mayor of New York has put his money where his mouth is.
Funding Global Abortion Providers
One aspect
of his philanthropy's overall health initiative is to underwrite
"reproductive health services in the most remote areas of" Tanzania.
Although all grants say they are intended "to reduce maternal deaths,"
alongside the CDC and the World Lung Foundation, Bloomberg
Philanthropies has funded two abortion providers.
In 2013, Bloomberg Philanthropies approved a a grant of $1,818,000
for EngenderHealth, and another $250,000 for Marie Stopes International
- Tanzania.
"EngenderHealth works to ensure reproductive rights of Tanzanian
women and their families by integrating family planning with HIV and
comprehensive abortion care services," the group
states on its website. EngenderHealth has been
discovered promoting the use of
manual vacuum aspiration (MVA), a common abortion method, as "post-abortion care" in Africa, including
in Tanzania.
The group also touts the fact that its expansion to all 26 regions of
the country "has also contributed to an increase in uptake
of long-acting and reversible methods," especially Implanon. Long-Acting
Reversible Contraceptives (LARCs) work both by preventing conception
and by
"alterations in the endometrium," which can cause an early abortion by preventing implantation.
Marie Stopes is known as a global abortion provider. MSI
states that it only provides "post-abortion care" in Tanzania, where abortion is legal only to save the life of the mother.
But Marie Stopes officials have admitted that the group performs illegal abortions.
"We do illegal abortions all over the world," Paul Cornellison, the director of Marie Stopes International in South Africa,
said during a Marie Stopes International conference in 2007 in London - remarks that were
caught on film. "There's various options, you know, once we open a center there...if we can just get our foot in the door."
In other nations, Bloomberg has supported advocates of unlimited, universal abortion-on-demand.
"Abortion services should be made free...for all women and girls"
Bloomberg Philanthropies underwrites political advocacy in African
and Central American nations whose laws reflect the pro-life outlook of
its citizens. The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF)
offers a glimpse into what international abortion lobbyists demand.
Between 2012 and 2014, IPPF wrote a 32-page case study on the Senegalese legal landscape, entitled
Over-Protected and Under-Served. While
numerous participants told researchers that abortion is "easy" to
obtain and “lots of young people are having clandestine abortions,” IPPF
focused on promoting "safe" abortion -- while making clear that such
laws were only one components of its overall mission.
"Advocacy efforts should focus on realizing the ultimate goal of
unrestricted access to abortion services, and protection of this right
under the law. Abortion services should be made free, safe, accessible
and confidential for all women and girls," the report states.
The abortion industry signaled it rejects incremental aims to achieve
the eventual recognition of abortion as a human right. "Anything other
than full decriminalization will often lead to abortion remaining
inaccessible to all but a very small number of women," the report says.
The task of pressuring government officials will fall to local
activists in the nations targeted by Bloomberg because, in the words of
Kelly Henning, the head of the public health program at Bloomberg
Philanthropies, "We want this effort to be sustainable."
If the effort fails, it will not be for lack of resources. In a
separate component of its reproductive health plan, Bloomberg partnered
with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to enact Family Planning
2020's global reproductive and population goals.
Is Jeb "Ultimately Accountable"?
The association with Bloomberg conflicts with Jeb's record as a
two-term pro-life governor of Florida who enacted parental consent laws,
allowed the regulation of abortion facilities, did not allow state
funds to be used for abortion counseling, and created the state's
"Choose Life" license plate.
As one of more than a dozen directors - which include such
distinguished names as former Sens. Sam Nunn and David Boren, currently
Sen. Cory Booker, and former Bush-43 officials Elaine Chao and Hank
Paulson - what responsibility does the former Florida governor bear?
The issue bubbled up in April, giving his yet-unannounced campaign an opportunity to respond.
“Governor Bush was honored to serve on the board of Bloomberg
Philanthropies, which does a lot of good work across the world,” Bush
spokeswoman Kristy Campbell told the
Tampa Bay Times. "As a board member, Governor Bush did not vote on or approve individual projects or programs."
Although Bush and Bloomberg "disagree on several policy issues, both
share a passion for improving education in America," she added - a
reference to their mutual embrace of the Common Core curriculum and
other policies.
A spokeswoman for Bloomberg Philanthropies, Meghan Womack, confirmed
to the newspaper that directors do not sign off on every project.
But to what extent was Bush active in the issue?
According to nonprofit norms, directors carry deep responsibility for
the organizations they help lead. "Regardless of what board members are
called, they are in essence the trustees in the literal and legal sense
of the term," the National Center for Nonprofit Boards wrote on the
responsibilities of board members. "No
matter how the organization is structured or the degree of authority
delegated to staff, committees, or affiliates, the board and therefore
the individual trustees are ultimately accountable."
Bloomberg Philanthropies
noted
in a press release, "The directors will serve in an advisory and
oversight capacity." Bush earned $37,100 in compensation for his nearly
five years of service.
"Bush’s people are probably right that as a board member he did not
vote on every project," Stephen Phelan, the director of mission
communications at
Human Life International,
told LifeSiteNews. "But Bloomberg has been so open about his
foundation’s goals for so long that it really stretches credibility to
say that Bush or his people wouldn’t have known that the foundation
pushes abortion and other population control efforts."
Bloomberg clarified his goals while accepting his Planned Parenthood
award last year. "You can't fight every battle," he said. "The things
that are high on my priority list are sensible gun laws...I obviously
care about a woman's right to choose...Nobody's a bigger supporter of
gay rights." He added that "we need a good immigration bill" that
provides amnesty for an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants, "so we
can continue our economy."
Bloomberg has
described abortion
as a "fundamental human right, elevating it to a make-or-break
position. "On this issue, you’re either with us or against us.” He once
cited abortion among his reasons for
endorsing Barack Obama in 2012.
Despite their differences on abortion policy, the billionaire has had
no reservations supporting Jeb Bush's candidacy - even before there was
one.
Last spring, he
called Jeb and Hillary Clinton "two quality” candidates and "the only two who know how to make the trains run."
He also showered compliments upon Bush while introducing him to the New York State Republican Party convention in 2010.
“I couldn’t agree more with this guy,” he
said of
Jeb. “If there’s anyone I would want on my side waging all those
important battles and helping provide the government Americans deserve,
it is our next speaker."
