US Rejects WHO’s Abortion Language In Coronavirus Resolution

Hours after President Donald Trump threatened to quit the World Health Organization, the U.S. rejected abortion language in the World Health Organization’s coronavirus resolution.

The U.S. said in a statement that it “dissociates” from the World Health Organization (WHO) language on guaranteeing the rights of poor countries to forgo intellectual property rules during emergencies in order to get medicine and to guarantee reproductive and sexual healthcare during the pandemic.

“The United States believes in legal protections for the unborn, and rejects any interpretation of international human rights,” the statement said, according to Reuters.

The rejection of abortion language comes after Trump issued an ultimatum to the WHO Monday night, warning the WHO to reform within the next month or lose U.S. funding.

“I cannot allow American taxpayer dollars to continue to finance an organization that, in its present state, is so clearly not serving America’s interests,” Trump’s letter to the WHO said. Trump criticized the WHO’s “alarming lack of independence” from the Chinese government.

“If the World Health Organization does not commit to major substantive improvements within the next 30 days, I will make my temporary freeze of United States funding to the World Health Organization permanent and reconsider our membership in the organization,” the president added in the letter.

The WHO told the Daily Caller News Foundation in early April that “services related to reproductive health are considered to be part of essential services during the COVID-19 outbreak.”

“Women’s choices and rights to sexual and reproductive health care should be respected, irrespective of whether or not she has a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection,” WHO said in the statement to the DCNF.

“This includes contraception, quality health care during and after pregnancy and childbirth, and safe abortion to the full extent of the law,” the organization said, noting that the WHO provides both global technology and policy guidance to WHO members “on the use of contraception to prevent unintended pregnancy, safe abortion, and treatment of complications from unsafe abortion.”

The WHO did not respond to repeated requests for comment from the DCNF.