Adam Pack
Republican Indiana Sen. Jim Banks is calling on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to investigate a government agency allegedly pressuring foreign nations to adopt abortion rights in exchange for American aid.
Banks wrote a letter to the State Department Thursday afternoon calling on Rubio to “complete a thorough investigation” into Millennium Challenge Corporation’s (MCC) foreign aid practices and abortion advocacy under the Biden administration, according to the letter’s text exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“Holding assistance hostage for the sake of pressuring another nation to adopt pro-abortion legislation is shameful and wrong,” Banks wrote. “It is unconscionable that the United States has used the MCC to threaten the Sierra Leonean’s protection for the unborn.”
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Banks specifically alleges that the MCC threatened to deny foreign aid to the West African country of Sierra Leone if the country refused to adopt pro-abortion legislation currently under consideration by the country’s parliament. The legislation, called the “Safe Motherhood Act” would legalize abortion up to 14 weeks with no restrictions and up to birth in cases negatively impacting the “mental health of the women,” according to Banks’ letter.
Banks is also calling on Rubio to “reaffirm the United States’ support for respecting foreign countries’ protections for the unborn,” in the letter.
Donald Trump is the most pro-life President we’ve ever had. https://t.co/wsvVK1fhxL
— Jim Banks (@Jim_Banks) January 25, 2025
The United States signed an agreement with Sierra Leone in September 2024 to award $480 million to the country over a five-year period to upgrade its energy infrastructure to lower electricity costs, according to the MCC’s overview of the compact.
The Daily Signal was first to report on the allegations that MCC threatened to withhold nearly half a billion in foreign aid in the event Sierra Leone’s parliament did not pass the pro-choice legislation seeking to force abortion on a predominantly Muslim country.
Under current Sierra Leonean law, abortion is only permitted when the life of the mother is at stake. The country is nearly 80% Muslim, according to a 2019 estimate by the CIA World Factbook.
Banks is also asking Rubio to probe whether MCC used the left-wing nonprofit Freedom House to evaluate whether Sierra Leone was eligible for foreign aid. The government agency uses Freedom House analysis to assess the “political rights” and “civil liberties” of foreign countries, according to MCC’s website.
The MCC gave Sierra Leone passing marks on “political rights” and “civil liberties” indicators for fiscal year 2024.
The Indiana Republican’s letter observes that Freedom House lowered its “Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights” scorecard for the United States following the Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade, which did not recognize a constitutional right to an abortion.
The MCC was established by Congressduring President George W. Bush’s first term to provide foreign aid to the world’s poorest countries, according to the government agency’s website.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a 90-day freeze on foreign aid on Jan. 20. Rubio has exempted “core life-saving programs” related to medicine, food and shelter that fall under the State Department’s purview.
Trump also revoked a Biden-era policy, known as the Mexico City rule, that allowed foreign organizations and programs to use American taxpayer dollars to conduct abortions.
The MCC denied pressuring Sierra Leone to adopt pro-abortion policies in exchange for foreign aid in a statement given to the DCNF.
“The Millennium Challenge Corporation is complying with President Trump’s executive orders and Office of Management and Budget guidance,” an MCC spokesperson wrote. “MCC has never made any requests to the Government of Sierra Leone regarding abortion policies. Any such legislation would be an internal matter for Sierra Leone with no U.S. government development funds made contingent on its passage.”
“The Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, which established MCC, includes a prohibition on abortion,” the spokesperson added.
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