The David and Lucile Packard Foundation:

Bankrolling Our "Right" to Kill Unborn Children Worldwide

By Laura Antkowiak

The fourth-largest foundation in the United States, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, continues in 2001 to solidify its position as a foremost backer of the pro-abortion agenda in the United States and around the world.

In 2000, the Packard Foundation lavished $122.7 million of $614 million total grants on projects in the field of "population." This included a $10 million gift to the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL) Foundation for its Choice for America campaign. The Packard Foundation's population grants to date in 2001 again support a "who's who" list of pro- abortion organizations, including Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation.

The foundation was started in 1964 by David Packard (1912-1996), co-founder of the Hewlett-Packard Company, and Lucile Salter Packard (1914-1987). Among the foundation's beliefs are that " Together, universities, national institutions, community groups, youth agencies, family planning centers, and hospitals constitute a great American tradition that complements government efforts to focus on society's needs."

In its guidelines for grant applicants in the area of " reproductive rights," the Packard Foundation tells applicants that "reproductive rights are a fundamental human right." Therefore, the foundation "supports organizations that increase access to reproductive health information and services including abortion, affect public dialogue, and inform public policy."

It continues, "To expand the power of individuals to make their own reproductive choices, many public and private policies must change." The foundation also adds on its web page that with regard to making abortion and family planning more accessible, " Reaching young adults is a priority."

Apparently disturbed that the rest of the world does not have the same radical abortion laws and abortion access as the United States, the Packard Foundation recently established a program to train "population and reproductive health leaders" within eight focus countries: Ethiopia, India, Mexico, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Sudan. The Packard Foundation gave $3 million over five years to the group, Partners in Population and Development, to implement this strategy. The foundation hopes that as a result of its leadership development, the focus countries will see "progressive policies and increased access to family planning and reproductive health services."

Recently, the foundation announced $21 million in grants to support "international family planning" in these eight focus countries. According to a Business Wire report, the money will finance "direct family planning and reproductive health services, as well as education, advocacy, evaluation, and training."

It is quite clear that the Packard Foundation means "reproductive health services" to include abortion. Providing additional reason for pro-lifers to be wary of references to "family planning," the Packard Foundation lists the chemical abortifacient mifepristone and the manual vacuum aspiration abortion technique alongside contraceptive devices in enumerating the "fertility regulation methods" that it hopes to improve and expand.

How has the Packard Foundation spent its billions this year? Currently, the foundation's web page identifies $48 million in grants in the area of "population." This list does not appear to include the latest $21 million, and the total promises to climb as the year continues.

The bulk of the $48 million ($27.7 million) was spent on "family planning and reproductive health." Another $7.9 million supported "reproductive rights." Remaining funds fell under the categories of youth, mobilization, leadership, and population and the environment.

The following are just a sampling of the Packard Foundation's largest population grants in 2001:

$4 million to the National Abortion Federation for its media campaign to promote the dangerous chemical abortion method, mifepristone (RU486).

$2.5 million to the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy and $1.6 million to the American Civil Liberties Union, for the protection of "reproductive rights." $2.4 million over three years to Ipas, to "expand access to safe abortion care in Nigeria." $1.5 million to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America to " expand comprehensive reproductive health services in Sudan" and $1 million for a campaign to "defend U.S. reproductive rights."