Bush appointee gave to group that opposes anti-abortion policy she will enforce
 President George W. Bush's nominee to fill the position of a top State Department official donated money to an organization that opposes a controversial international anti-abortion policy that she will be responsible for enforcing, RAW STORY has found. The nominee is set to replace Randall Tobias, who hastily quit his position at the State Department after ABC News revealed that he was a client of 'DC Madam' Deborah Jean Palfrey.
Henrietta Holsman Fore was nominated Monday to serve as Deputy Secretary of State and Administrator of the US Agency for International Development, and has already been appointed acting Director of Foreign Assistance.
Federal Election Commission records show that Fore gave $3,500 to the group WISH List from 1998-2000. The WISH List describes itself on its website as an organization that works to "raise money to identify, train, support and elect more Republican women leaders to public office at all levels of government. WISH is America's largest fundraising network for pro-choice Republican women candidates!"
Beyond its pro-choice orientation, WISH List describes itself as aligned in opposition to the "Global Gag Rule." On another page devoted to "Key Issues," WISH List describes the "global gag rule" as a policy that "bans foreign organizations that receive federal family planning money from using their own, non-federal, funds to provide legal abortions or medical counseling/referrals regarding abortion." The page also has a broken link to a fact sheet from the group Republican Majority for Choice which states that "The Gag Rule has tragic results for women worldwide," and calls for its repeal.
As USAID Administrator, Fore will be responsible for enforcing the Global Gag Rule, which USAID refers to as the Mexico City Policy. President Ronald Reagan announced the policy in 1984. On Jan. 22, 2001, President Bush wrote a memo in which he directed "the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development to reinstate in full all of the requirements of the Mexico City Policy in effect on January 19, 1993."
The State Department told RAW STORY in a Tuesday phone call that it had no comment on Fore's donations to the WISH List, and whether it created any conflict with her possible responsibilities as USAID Administrator.
The WISH List could not be reached at press time.
The WISH List is not the only Republican cause that Fore has donated to over the years. She has given thousands of dollars to the the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Republican National Committee, Senators Mitch McConnell (KY), Mel Martinez (FL), and John Ensign (NV), as well as President George W. Bush's campaigns for office.
Fore is set to replace Tobias, who resigned suddenly on April 27 when ABC News revealed that he had been a client of the so-called DC Madam.
"As a top official overseeing global AIDS funding to other countries, Tobias was responsible for enforcing a U.S. policy, enacted during the Bush administration, that requires recipients to swear they oppose prostitution and sex trafficking," noted ABC's Brian Ross and Justin Rood on April 27. "Tobias was criticized by some for emphasizing faithfulness and abstinence over condom use to prevent the spread of AIDS."
Note: The Washington Post's Al Kamen first mentioned Fore's donations in his column on Friday, May 4.
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