by Itunuoluwa Adebo

Officials in Washington said the US government plans to stop funding the United Nations Population Fund because of the organization’s “coercive” family planning practices, including providing abortions,

According to a State Department official, Trump has instructed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson “to take all necessary actions, to the extent permitted by law, to ensure that US taxpayer dollars do not fund organizations or programs that support or participate in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.”

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The funding cut would go into effect during the 2017 fiscal year, the decision to terminate US donations to the UN agency was “based on the fact that China’s family planning policies still involve the use of coercive abortion and involuntary sterilization, and UNFPA partners on family planning activities with the Chinese government agency responsible for these coercive policies,” the statement said.

“The determination will result in withholding $32.5 million of fiscal year 2017 funding, provided for UNFPA,” it said, adding that the funds instead will be directed to other global health programs.

The organization, which provides reproductive health and birth control services in more than 150 countries and territories, said early Tuesday that it “regrets” the decision by Washington “to deny any future funding for its life-saving work the world over.”

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