A group of pro-abortion U.S. senators have released a letter condemning the Trump administration for trying to exclude abortion from the UN’s COVID-19 aid appeal.

Senate Democrats reacted to the unprecedented letter from the head of the United States Agency for International Development, John Barsa, in which he strongly opposed the UN’s use of the coronavirus pandemic to promote abortion around the world.

Barsa’s letter states that the phrase “sexual and reproductive health” is controversial when its inclusion is proposed in negotiated documents at the UN, and member states are “deeply divided” over its use. He urges the use of “clear language” and “clear action to address the real needs of vulnerable people around the world without promoting abortion,” especially given the urgency of the COVID-19 response.

The senators argue that removing references to sexual and reproductive health would jeopardize the U.S.’s commitments to “women’s economic empowerment, reducing maternal and infant mortality and morbidity, and advancing HIV prevention, care, and treatment efforts.” However, the U.S. could request explicit references to those aims without using the term with clear ties to abortion.

Senator Bob Menendez, the lead author of the letter rebuking Barsa, was strongly endorsed by Planned Parenthood in his 2018 campaign for reelection, and the vice president of their political action fund, Dawn Laguens, wrote, “Menendez knows that every woman should have the right to access safe and legal abortion.” The other signatories have similar records on the issue.

The above comes from a June 16 story by C-Fam by way of LifeSite News.