Catholic Activists Decry United Kingdom’s Support for Abortionist Organizations in Africa

Nairobi, 26 December, 2022 / 8:05 PM

Catholic activists in the United Kingdom (UK) under the umbrella body, CitizenGo, have launched a campaign against their host government in a bid to stop the country’s new Prime Minister from donating funds to “infamous abortion giants” with operations in Africa.

UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) allocated £256 million to Marie Stopes International (MSI), and £96 million to International Planned Parenthood Foundation (IPPF) between 2016 and 2020.

In their latest petition shared with ACI Africa Monday, October 17, members of the UK branch of the International Catholic activist organizations say Western nations and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) “have a shameful history of abortion imperialism, pushing abortion on developing nations in recent years under the guise of so-called ‘essential’ healthcare.”

“It is deplorable that developed Western nations deem it appropriate to spend millions of pounds on pushing abortion into some of the world’s poorest regions, instead of supplying basic humanitarian and genuine health aid to assist and ease human suffering,” the Catholic activists say. 

They add, “Not only has the Government been giving millions of pounds to abortion providers, it has been doing so at the expense of genuine maternal healthcare.”

“£352 million is quite simply a disgusting use of public money and must be diverted to promote genuine health care and alleviate human suffering, not promote it,” they say referencing the funds donated to MSI and IPPF.

The CitizenGo members say the misuse of public money in the guise of essential healthcare “is especially egregious during a cost-of-living crisis at home, when millions of households are facing fuel poverty.”

In the petition addressed to the UK Prime Minister, Liz Truss, members of the international activist organization whose aim is to defend life and family globally say, “Britain must direct funds away from destroying innocent lives and families in these developing regions.”

They urge the UK Prime Minister “to stop funding and promoting abortion around the world, mainly in Africa.”

“Please stop giving UK taxpayers’ money to these discredited organizations to promote this neo-colonialist agenda,” the Catholic activists say in their latest petition.

This story was first published by ACI Africa on 18 October 2022.