Interview
Secretary of State
QUESTION: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, thanks for being with us this morning.
SECRETARY POMPEO: It’s great to be with you.
QUESTION: You made a big announcement last week about more strictly enforcing the expanded Mexico City Policy. Can you tell us: Why is this policy important and why now?
SECRETARY POMPEO: So, Catherine, President Trump has made clear that protecting the life of the unborn is an important part of what this administration is working to do. One of the places that there’s risk is that American taxpayer dollars, money that comes from you and from me, will be used by foreign nongovernmental organizations in a way that supports abortion or abortion-related services. We want to do everything we can to make sure that that does not happen. And so what we announced was a way to prevent there being a back door from loopholes, from subcontracting in a way that would present the risk that there would be one more child that didn’t come to life.
QUESTION: And the second part of your announcement concerned fully enforcing the Siljander Amendment, which prohibits U.S. funds from being used to lobby for or against abortion. Can you clarify: Is this the first time this law is being fully enforced? And where have you seen abuses of this law?
SECRETARY POMPEO: So this is a substantial step. We want to make sure that in everything we do – in the way we contract, in the way we communicate – every organization to which United States taxpayers provide funds understands their obligation, their duty to ensure that there’s not the promotion of abortion anywhere in the world. And the Siljander Amendment has been on the books for a long time; this administration is determined to ensure that it is fully enforced.
QUESTION: Excellent. And how are you planning to fully enforce the Siljander Amendment abroad?
SECRETARY POMPEO: So there’ll be lots of ways. First, it’s to communicate, just as with any enforcement mechanism. When organizations understand their obligations, most of them will comply. They’ll want to do so selfishly because they want to continue to receive those resources, but they want to do things right, so we have to communicate the requirements that they have. The second thing is, where we find an organization that’s not behaving appropriately, acting in a way that is inconsistent with what they’ve committed to – that is, they’ll have a contractual obligation – we’ll pull their money.
QUESTION: Wow. Planned Parenthood has called the Global Protect Life Policy the global gag rule. Can you clarify, Mr. Secretary, does this pro-life policy censor doctors abroad, as abortion advocates claim?
SECRETARY POMPEO: Not at all. Every – we know the First Amendment here in the United States. We’re doing nothing to deny anyone the ability to speak about a subject that they deem important, indeed, even if they disagree with this administration’s views. What we’re simply saying is that the American money, American policy is going to push back. We’re going to do our level best to ensure that the least amongst us, the unborn, aren’t – with U.S. taxpayer dollars – aborted.
QUESTION: And what role does the State Department play in upholding a pro-life agenda abroad and upholding the sanctity of life?
SECRETARY POMPEO: So the Mexico City Policy that was originally put in place by President Reagan, now several decades back, President Trump has expanded upon. And the State Department has a real role in that. You see that in the announcement that we made. Our team around the world, the resources that Congress provides that – with monies that come from the American taxpayers, we have an obligation to ensure that it’s spent in a way that is consistent with President Trump’s objectives.
QUESTION: We are more than halfway through President Donald Trump’s first term. You’ve been Secretary of State for less than a year, almost one year. How much time has had to be spent simply undoing eight years’ worth of abortion extremism put into place from the Obama administration?
SECRETARY POMPEO: So we did flip the switch, there’s no doubt. President Trump’s policies are very different than the previous administration’s. Some of that work here at the State Department was done before my time, when the administration first came into office under the guidance of the Vice President and the President. But there’s still more work to do. I’ve spent a fair amount of time on it. I’ll continue to ensure that we’re executing President Trump’s vision with respect to making sure that no money that comes through the State Department is used to underwrite abortion or abortion-related services.
QUESTION: What has President Trump said to you about upholding life abroad?
SECRETARY POMPEO: He’s made it clear: That’s the mission.
QUESTION: You graduated, Mr. Secretary, first in your class at West Point Military Academy, you graduated from Harvard Law School, yet many people paint the pro-life movement as anti-intellectual, as an issue solely of faith separated from reason. What’s your response to that?
SECRETARY POMPEO: Science is on the side of life. We’ve seen it. I think anyone who understands that this precious young child is being killed recognizes that the science, reason dictate that this life must be protected. I sometimes hear those on the other side say that we’re anti-science. Nothing with respect to protecting the unborn could be more untrue. Common sense is with us too.
QUESTION: Days ago, just days ago, The New York Times said no secretary of state in recent decades has been as open and fervent as Mr. Pompeo about discussing Christianity and foreign policy in the same breath. Mr. Secretary, how much does your Christian faith shape your day-to-day work here in the State Department, particularly on the issue of life?
SECRETARY POMPEO: So, as a Christian, it impacts the way I think about the world, there’s no doubt about that. The policies I follow are directed by President Trump. The mission that we have is bounded by our Constitution. But it’s certainly my faith. I think with all believers, believers of every faith – Christianity, Judaism, Islam – I think it impacts all of the way we look. I talk about it because I want people to know where I’m coming from, how I think about ensuring that, whether it’s protecting the unborn or making sure that there are First Amendment protections or treating every human being, regardless of their race, regardless of their gender, treating every human being with the dignity they deserve by the mere fact that they’re a human being. That is a fundamental Christian belief, and something that I think does, in fact, inform the way I stare at the world.
QUESTION: Absolutely. Thank you for your leadership, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
SECRETARY POMPEO: Thank you very much.
QUESTION: Thank you.
SECRETARY POMPEO: Great to be with you, Catherine.
QUESTION: Great to be with you.
Published April 05, 2019 at 01:33PM
Read more at https://travel.state.gov
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