In 2003, two years after President George Bush reinstated the Mexico City Policy (referred to by abortion proponents as the "global gag rule"), which denies U.S. funds to international groups that commit or promote abortion, the BBC reported the following:
Hundreds of women's health organisations in the poorest nations of the world - places where maternal mortality and infant death are high - faced a tough choice. Either sign the gag rule and be silenced on abortion, or refuse and lose millions of dollars in US aid.
Most refused to sign. As a result, thousands of family planning clinics across the developing world have closed their doors, making access to vital contraceptives hard to come by.
In reality, only five of 457 organizations declined U.S. Agency for International Development family planning assistance in protest over the Mexico City Policy in 2001.
They were...
Continue reading my column today, "5 groups profit from Mexico City policy repeal," at WorldNetDaily.com.
If the BBC and WND give conflicting accounts, I'm going with the BBC. I have not one shread of respect for WND, and it is not deserving of any.
Also, I think I see why the numbers might not add up. The WND account refers to 'organisations,' while the BBC refers to 'clinics.' One organisation may run a great many clinics.