USAID: Statement From Acting Administrator John Barsa on Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance
In a statement on the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy, USAID Acting Administrator John Barsa discusses a letter written by USAID Assistant Administrator for Global Health Alma Golden to all of USAID’s prime recipients of global health assistance “to emphasize how seriously USAID takes compliance with all statutory and policy abortion restrictions,” which apply both to “prime partners in global health and their sub-grantees and sub-contractors under grants” (10/30).

USAID: Acting Administrator Barsa’s Letter to the U.N. Secretary General
In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, USAID Acting Administrator John Barsa writes, “As the United Nations (U.N.) focuses on celebrating its legacy over the last 75 years, including as a champion of women for more than a quarter century, I write to reiterate the U.S. Government’s call for ‘the [U.N. to] promote and fulfill an agenda that encourages meaningful contributions for women and their communities, and that has a positive and lasting impact for generations to come.’ I also want once again to raise concerns with the disconcerting trend that the U.N. supports and champions abortion, especially under the guise of the term ‘sexual and reproductive health.’ … The fundamental problem at hand is that, despite claims to the contrary, including yours, the term ‘sexual and reproductive health’ and its derivatives have become shorthand for abortion within the U.N. and other multilateral fora…”(10/30).