President Bush has placed a "temporary hold" on $34 million in family planning funding for the U.N. Population Fund until he "decides whether to set aside the money altogether to signal opposition" to what abortion-rights opponents and some lawmakers say is UNFPA's "taci[t]" support for China's population control methods, the Washington Post reports. Those asking Bush to cancel the agency's funding for this year say UNFPA contributes to forced abortions and sterilization by giving aid to family planning programs in China (Eilperin, Washington Post, 1/12). The $34 million in funding -- $13.5 million more than UNFPA received during the last year of the Clinton presidency and $9 million more than initially requested by Bush -- is contained in a $15.4 billion foreign operations bill passed by Congress last month and signed by President Bush on Thursday. But in a statement accompanying the signing of the measure, Bush noted that the legislation gives him "additional discretion to determine the appropriate level of funding" for UNFPA. The AP/Nando Times reports that UNFPA, which assists developing countries with family planning and population strategy, has long been a "lightning rod" for conservatives. In a Dec. 21 letter urging Bush to "delete" UNFPA's funding, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) wrote, "By their words and actions, the UNFPA has chosen to partner with those who oppress women. At best, UNFPA has been the willing 'enabler' of massive human rights violations" (Carter, AP/Nando Times, 1/11). A White House official said on Friday that Bush has not decided how much money to give UNFPA.

A Sharp Reaction
U.N. officials and lawmakers supportive of abortion rights criticized the hold on the funding, saying it could lead to the loss of family planning services for hundreds of thousands of women worldwide. Stirling Scruggs, a spokesperson for UNFPA, said that agency officials estimated that the loss of U.S. funding "could undermine their capacity to prevent 800,000 abortions and deaths of 4,700 mothers and 77,000 children under the age of five." He also said it would take a "huge bite" of UNFPA's international HIV/AIDS prevention programs. U.N. officials "sharply disputed" allegations that UNFPA supports forced abortion in China, saying that they "closely monitored the programs they supported and sent over an independent team last year to investigate such charges." On Capitol Hill, lawmakers said that Bush's hold on the funds violated the spirit of the agreement reached on the foreign operations bill. "This act is against the will of Congress, against the written support of (Secretary of State Colin) Powell and against the crucial needs of millions of women and children around the world," Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) said. Powell told a House committee last spring that UNFPA "provides critical population assistance to developing countries." Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) said she might force a vote on the funding this year, saying she "would not let the administration hold the funds 'hostage'" (Washington Post, 1/12).