Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Senator James Lankford (R-OK), and 26 other Republican members of Congress today sent a new letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urging the United States—in its capacity as a permanent member of the United Nations (UN) Security Council—to veto the selection of Dr. Michelle Bachelet as the next UN Secretary General (UNSG).

                In Bachelet’s previous roles as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Executive Director of UN Women, and the President of Chile, the 28 co-signers of the letter note that she has historically promoted and advanced an extreme abortion agenda, making her previous experience incompatible with “the qualifications that President Trump’s Administration has laid out for the next UNSG.”

                “Dr. Bachelet’s previous promotion of an extreme abortion agenda suggests that, if selected as the next UNSG, she would continue the UN practice of engaging in ‘the propagation of divisive ideologies that undermine national sovereignty and stir controversy rather than bring member states together to address issues of common concern,’” the Republican lawmakers write. “Her demonstrated ambitions and priorities conflict with the United States’ determination to bring the UN ‘back to the basics.’”

                Within the letter, first reported by the Daily Wire, the members of Congress outline their concerns with Bachelet’s past performance and priorities in her previous roles, arguing that her selection as the UNSG will only harm the Trump Administration’s vision for the UN.

                For instance, as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Bachelet vigorously opposed the advancement of pro-life policy, condemned the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, and inaccurately claimed that abortion is a “human right” while failing to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for true human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China.

                As the Executive Director of UN Women, Bachelet consistently affirmed that “reproductive rights,” a euphemism that encompasses elective abortion, were “absolutely fundamental” to UN Women’s mission of advancing “general equality and the empowerment of women.” And as the President of Chile, Bachelet initiated the weakening of the country’s pro-life law “protecting unborn life in all circumstances.”

                In their conclusion, the letter authors argue that “Dr. Bachelet’s resume reveals a pro-abortion zealot intent on using political authority to override state sovereignty in favor of extreme agendas,” adding that “she has demonstrated that she is not a candidate who will respect state sovereignty, refrain from divisive ideologies, or focus of issues of common concern to UN member states.”

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