A key committee in the House of Representatives today approved H.R. 2059, which would prohibit U.S. taxpayer dollars funding the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which supports China's controversial one child policy.

    “I strongly support H.R. 2059 sponsored by Renee Ellmers and thank her for standing up for the women and children in China,” said Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), a cosponsor of the bill and co-chairman of the Bipartisan Congressional Pro-Life Caucus.  “China’s one child policy is state sponsored cruelty and constitutes massive crimes against humanity. The Nuremberg Nazi war crimes tribunal properly construed forced abortion as a crime against humanity—nothing in human history compares to the magnitude of China’s 32 year assault on women and children.

    In a vote of 23-17, the Foreign Affairs Committee approved the measure this afternoon.

    “Since 1979, brothers and sisters have been illegal in most of China,” Smith said. “If a woman is caught pregnant without explicit government authorization to give birth, she is forced to abort. Unwed mothers are all compelled to abort. Handicapped unborn children, if discovered, are killed by the state. Ruinous fines—up to ten times the combined salary of both parents—jail, torture, property confiscation, loss of employment, education opportunities, housing and health care are all weapons aggressively used by the family planning cadres to ensure compliance. No wonder over 500 Chinese women commit suicide each day in China.”

    The bipartisan bill has 62 cosponsors. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-18), Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, praised the Committee’s passage of H.R. 2059 to prevent U.S. tax dollars from supporting China’s policies of forced abortions and sterilization.

    “I am very pleased that the Committee passed this important bill to prevent U.S. taxpayer dollars from supporting coerced abortions and sterilization in China,” said Ros-Lehtinen. “These policies are an affront to humanity, and we should not be giving money to international organizations which support them.”

    The bipartisan bill has 62 cosponsors. Smith said that as a result of the Chinese government’s barbaric attack on mothers and their children, there are some 100 million more males than females in China today.

    “It’s been said that the three most dangerous words in China today are: it’s a girl!” Smith said.