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By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

BERLIN, September 4, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The executive director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) recently gave a speech at an international conference calling for a $23 billion dollar budget to fund abortions worldwide.

“It would cost the world 23 billion dollars per year to terminate undesired pregnancies and deaths during delivery,” said Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, leader of the organization, before over 400 “reproductive rights” advocates at the Berlin meeting, which was co-sponsored by the German government.

She also called for a redoubling of efforts related to contraceptives, despite increasing evidence that such programs actually encourage extramarital sexual intercourse and the spread of disease.

Obaid's remarks were reported by the French radio news service RFI.

Although the UNFPA claims it is not involved in abortion, its leadership speaks out frequently to advocate the practice, and groups such as the Population Research Institute have repeatedly exposed the agency's support for coercive abortion and sterilization programs in China, Peru, Vietnam, and other countries.

According to the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM), the German government is also promoting the idea of “universal access to sexual and reproductive health information and services by 2015” which includes “options for safe abortions.”

Related LifeSiteNews coverage:

United Nations Population Fund Leader Says Family Breakdown is a Triumph for Human Rights 

New On-the-Ground Investigations Confirm UNFPA Complicity in China's Coercive Population Policy 

U.S. Dept. of State Announces $50 Million Contribution to UNFPA