Risch proposes bill to block US foreign aid from funding abortions

The bill would restrict the use of foreign assistance funds to perform abortions, promote or lobby for or against abortions and force sterilization. 

The bill also would ensure U.S. foreign aid funds cannot be used for biomedical research relating to abortions. 

The bill also would permanently restrict funds to organizations that support or participate in the management of a program of "coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization." 

It also would permanently enact restrictions on the use of funds made available to the Peace Corps to pay for abortions. 

s"American foreign aid should always be used in a way that is in line with American values - and that means that no foreign assistance funds should ever be used to perform or promote abortion services," Risch told Fox News Digital. "I'm proud to introduce the American Values Act with my colleagues to hold our government accountable to this standard and protect the sanctity of life across the globe."

The legislation is co-sponsored by Republican Sens. Roger Marshall of Kansas, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Rick Scott of Florida, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Steve Daines of Montana, Tim Sheehy of Montana, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska. 

The White House, in rolling out the order, said that the Department of Government Efficiency, which aims to eliminate government spending and waste, identified $37 million that was about to go to the World Health Organization, along with $50 million to "fund condoms in Gaza." 

"That is a preposterous waste of money," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.