Republicans Push to Defund Nonprofits That Use Foreign Aid to Illegally Promote Abortion

By: James Lynch, originally published April 8, 2025, The National Review

Republican lawmakers are moving to prevent U.S. foreign aid dollars from unlawfully promoting abortion abroad after the Biden administration used critical HIV and AIDS relief money to do so.

Senator Mike Lee (R., Utah) and Representative Warren Davidson (R., Ohio) are introducing legislation in each chamber, the Aid Accountability Act of 2025, to create harsh penalties for non-governmental organizations and federal employees who violate the Helms Amendment, a 1973 law banning foreign assistance money from going towards abortion, National Review has learned.

“It is illegal and immoral for the U.S. government to fund abortion abroad. Federal funding for groups that promote abortion damages our credibility and hurts our ability to work with nations that share pro-life values,” Davidson said in a statement to National Review.

“The Aid Accountability Act ensures real consequences for those who ignore the Helms Amendment by permanently banning non-profits caught using federal funds for abortion. Further, it would ban federal workers from civil service who knowingly violate the law. Only by restoring accountability to foreign aid can we hope to restore trust in the State Department.”

Davidson, a hardline member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is hoping to increase accountability to foreign aid programs after the State Department recently admitted to using PEPFAR funds to promote abortion. PEPFAR is the U.S. global health-care plan to combat HIV and AIDS worldwide, and is considered one of the most successful governmental programs in recent American history.

“For years, American tax dollars have gone to foreign aid efforts that promote abortion, in direct violation of the Helms amendment,” Lee said in a statement.

“This is largely because there have been no real penalties for this grievous abuse—until now. Our legislation permanently cuts aid off from any organizations which violate the abortion prohibition, and permanently fires any federal employee who knowingly facilitates it.”

The Aid Accountability Act would institute a permanent federal funding ban for nonprofit groups that violate the Helms Amendment. It would also prevent bureaucrats from working in the federal government if they knowingly facilitate Helms Amendment violations.

Representative Chris Smith (R., N.J.), a pro-life Catholic and Foreign Affairs Committee senior member, obtained an extensive list of the left-wing nonprofits that partnered with PEPFAR and actively promote abortion. Smith’s list shows that $1.3 billion went to the collection of over two dozen organizations in fiscal years 2021 and 2022 combined.

American pro-life organizations sounded the alarm in September 2023 with a letter to congress listing 25 pro-abortion organizations that were receiving funding through PEPFAR. The Biden administration’s 2023 PEPFAR guidelines explicitly said the program will work with organizations that advocate for changes to laws related to reproductive rights, a common euphemism for abortion.

African lawmakers and religious leaders have criticized the U.S. for attempting to weaponize PEPFAR funding to advance a pro-abortion agenda on foreign countries with different sets of values.

“We ask that PEPFAR remain true to its original mission and respect our norms, traditions, and values. We ask that those partner organizations with whom the U.S. government partners to implement PEPFAR programs in ways that are cognizant and respectful of our beliefs and not cross over into promoting divisive ideas and practices that are not consistent with those of Africa,” the African leaders wrote in a June 2023 letter to congress.

The State Department revealed in January that a Mozambique-based PEPFAR partner violated abortion restrictions and the U.S. responded by quickly suspending funding for the subsidiary. Once the violation was discovered, the State Department said it took “corrective action” and secured a reimbursement from the Mozambique government for the salaries of the healthcare workers responsible for breaking the law.

The State Department’s announcement took place right before the Trump administration came into power with plans to heavily scrutinize foreign aid. It promised to create new preventative measures to ensure PEPFAR partners are compliant with the conditions of U.S. funding. Davidson and Lee’s legislation would ensure consequences for actions such as the ones taken in Mozambique, rather than relying on agencies to self-correct.

James Lynch is a news writer for National Review. He previously was a reporter for the Daily Caller. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and based in the Washington, D.C. area.

Image: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/Reuters.