UK GOV’T CAUGHT FUNDING POPULATION CONTROL OVER BASIC NEEDS OF POOR

LONDON, December 6, 2002 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) has condemned the British government for giving more bilateral overseas aid for abortion and population control than for clean drinking water.  In a newly-published report, the Department for International Development (DFID)‘s 2001/02 bilateral funding commitments are £260 million for “reproductive health services”. In stark contrast “safe drinking water and adequate sanitation” is given only £78.8 million. “Reproductive health” is a term commonly used to include abortion, sterilisation and contraception.  SPUC political spokesman Anthony Ozimic asked: “How can the government justify spending almost three-and-a-half times more taxpayers’ money on preventing the poor from being born than on saving their lives by giving them clean water?”  Mr. Ozimic continued: “World Bank statistics show that millions of women in China and Vietnam have had an IUD fitted or are visited by Pill vendors but still do not have decent drinking water. World Bank figures also estimate that providing safe water & sanitation may cost as little as £13 per person. This would mean that the £260 million the government is spending on population control could instead be used to give 20 million people safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.  “The government’s other bilateral funding commitments also appear meagre next to its abortion/population control budget. Many countries need help with sustainable agriculture, but this need only gets £62.5 million. Likewise, aid to combat desertification, land degradation and drought only gets a paltry £6 million”. said Mr. Ozimic.  “Water and food production are basic human needs, but the British government prefers to promote its fixed ideology of population control at the expense of the developing world”, concluded Mr. Ozimic.