Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance Act
The Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance Act would restrict the use of U.S. federal funds for activities abroad (and in U.S. territories) to organizations that do not perform, promote, or financially support abortion-related activities. Specifically, it bans federal funding to foreign and domestic nonprofit organizations that perform abortions, provide abortion-related referrals or training, furnish items intended to procure abortions, or financially support such activities or entities. It also requires that domestic programs receiving federal funds avoid mixing abortion-related activities with funded programs by maintaining complete physical and financial separation. The bill provides limited exceptions for abortions resulting from rape or incest and for cases where the life of the mother is endangered. The prohibitions apply to transfers of funds and goods financed with federal funds and are meant to be implemented notwithstanding other laws.
Key Points
- 1Prohibition on foreign funding: Federal funds may not go to foreign nonprofit/NGO, foreign multilateral or quasi-autonomous NGO that performs or promotes abortions, provides abortion referrals/counseling/training, furnishes items to procure abortions, or funds entities that conduct these activities or support them.
- 2Prohibition on domestic funding: Federal funds may not go to domestic organizations that perform abortions, provide abortion-procurement items, or engage in abortion promotion within programs that receive federal funds, or fail to maintain complete separation from such activities (including co-locating such activities with funded programs).
- 3Scope of funding: The ban covers the transfer of federal funds and goods financed by those funds.
- 4Exceptions: Funding restrictions do not apply to abortions resulting from rape or incest, or abortions necessary to save the life of the mother.
- 5Preemption language: The restrictions apply “notwithstanding any other provision of law,” giving broad statutory priority to these funding limits.
- 6Oversight and compliance implications (implied): Organizations seeking federal funds would need to ensure their activities and finances are separated from any abortion-related work, or risk losing funding.