Ranking Member Shaheen, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Restore and Safeguard U.S. Support for UNFPA

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Tim Kaine (D-VA), Peter Welch (D-VT), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Patty Murray (D-WA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Chris Coons (D-DE) introduced the Support UNFPA Funding Act, legislation to authorize U.S. contributions to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and reassert American leadership in supporting access to family planning globally, preventing maternal deaths and responding to gender-based violence.

The legislation comes as the Trump Administration's 2025 halting of U.S. funding for UNFPA has already forced the closure of health centers, cut off lifesaving maternal and reproductive health care and left millions of women and girls in fragile and conflict-affected settings without essential services. UNFPA operates in more than 150 countries and is the only U.N. agency mandated to provide reproductive and maternal health care in humanitarian crises, ensuring women and families can access voluntary family planning, safe childbirth services and protection from gender-based violence.

"U.S. investment in UNFPA saves lives, advances women's rights and directly supports global stability and security," said Ranking Member Shaheen. "When the United States abruptly halted funding, clinics closed, women lost access to basic health care and preventable maternal deaths increased, particularly in conflict zones and humanitarian emergencies. This bill restores a common-sense, bipartisan approach: supporting voluntary, rights-based family planning and maternal health while ensuring full compliance with U.S. law. Undermining proven programs like UNFPA weakens our global leadership and creates unnecessary instability that ultimately affects Americans too."

"The Trump Administration's short-sighted and chaotic cutoff of funding for the United Nations Population Fund eliminated lifesaving care for millions of people and hurt our credibility with our partners," said Senator Kaine, Ranking Member of the Foreign Relations subcommittee responsible for human rights and global women's issues. "This legislation restores this funding and recognizes the critical role this aid has in saving lives, supporting women and girls, and advancing global security and stability - and by doing so, keeping Americans safe."

"For over half a century, the U.N. Population Fund has been indispensable in providing reproductive health services for women and combating gender-based violence around the world. It is outrageous that because of President Trump, this organization was forced to cut back on lifesaving aid-including work to support voluntary family planning and end pregnancy-related deaths," said Senator Welch. "Ensuring that UNFPA can deliver lifesaving assistance to women, children, and families in the world's poorest countries is vital to global health and security."

"The United Nations Population Fund does critical work in advancing women's health and supporting American security interests around the world," said Senator Rosen. "I'm proud to help introduce this bipartisan bill that supports maternal health and family planning while reaffirming our commitment to advancing women's rights around the globe."

"The Trump administration's decision to cut off all funding for UNFPA-despite Congress appropriating money for it on a bipartisan basis-has forced women across the globe to lose access to essential care and led to preventable suffering and deaths among pregnant women and newborns. Senselessly cutting off investments like these weakens America's global leadership and increases the likelihood of conflict and instability, which in turn threatens our own security," said Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray. "Supporting access to family planning and preventing gender-based violence isn't just the right thing to do; it's also a smart investment."

"U.S. investment in humanitarian assistance around the world not only saves countless lives, but it is also an essential part of our overall national security and foreign policy strategy. But President Trump has made it clear that he does not understand the benefits of U.S. investment in humanitarian aid, including his efforts to cut funding to UN organizations like UNFPA that support the health of women and girls around the world. This bill restores U.S. funding to UNFPA to ensure it has the resources it needs to carry out its critical humanitarian work," said Senator Van Hollen.

"Since entering office, Donald Trump and his administration have slashed funding for UNFPA, leaving millions of women and girls around the world without access to essential maternal and health care services," said Senator Booker. "I'm pleased to cosponsor this legislation that will restore funding to these vital programs, reassert U.S. leadership in supporting the rights of women and girls worldwide, and ultimately save lives."

"The lifesaving work of UNFPA is indispensable for women and families around the world," said Senator Gillibrand. "When the Trump administration halted funding, clinics closed, access to basic health care disappeared, and preventable maternal deaths increased. Restoring this support is a matter of protecting women's health, upholding human rights, and reaffirming American leadership. I'll keep fighting to continue investing in proven programs that save lives and strengthen global stability."

"Recklessly cutting funding to UNFPA has left millions of women and girls without the care that they need, threatened thousands of otherwise healthy pregnancies, and limited our global power and influence," said Senator Cortez Masto. "This is a commonsense bill that I'm proud to support."

"Funding UNFPA ensures women and their families have access to life-saving care when they are most in need: in the face of war and crisis," said Senator Merkley. "The Trump Administration's partisan, ideological funding cuts put the lives of hundreds of vulnerable women and children in danger and undermine our global leadership. I will keep fighting to protect women and children's rights and their access to health care both here and abroad."

"Ensuring women and girls around the world have access to safe, voluntary reproductive and maternal health care isn't just good policy - it's a matter of life and death," said Senator Durbin. "UNFPA's work saves lives every day, especially in communities facing conflict, displacement, or public health emergencies. In 2024, UNFPA provided sexual and reproductive health services to 10 million people across almost 50 countries. We've seen what happens when the U.S. walks away: clinics close, care disappears, and preventable tragedies rise. By restoring our commitment to UNFPA, we reaffirm a simple principle I've long supported: that every woman, no matter where she lives, deserves the dignity of quality health care and the freedom to make her own choices."

"Women and girls around the world often struggle to access even basic health care, especially during conflicts," said Senator Coons. "When they thrive, their communities are safer, stronger, and more prosperous, and their nations and the world - including the United States - benefit. Restoring funding to UNFPA is a first step to making that possible."

"The Support UNFPA Funding Act is a vital step to restoring US funding for a UN agency that provides lifesaving sexual and reproductive health services to millions worldwide," said Kelly Baden, Vice President for Public Policy, Guttmacher Institute. "UNFPA's work prevents maternal deaths, expands access to contraception, and combats gender-based violence, including child marriage and female genital mutilation. In humanitarian crises, UNFPA's work is particularly essential to ensure women and families receive critical health care and supplies. The Trump Administration's defunding of UNFPA and almost all family planning aid endangers lives, particularly those of women and girls. Congress must counter these devastating moves by strengthening support for UNFPA. We thank Senator Shaheen for her leadership in championing this critical legislation."

"Hadassah commends Senator Jeanne Shaheen for her leadership in support of the UNFPA Funding Act, which will ensure that women and girls around the world can access maternal health, contraception and gender-based violence resources and care," said Carol Ann Schwartz, National President, Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America. "These issues are paramount for Hadassah, as our founding mission was to address the dire healthcare needs, including those of new and expectant mothers, in pre-state Israel."

"PAI applauds Senator Shaheen and the original Senate co-sponsors for their bold leadership in introducing the Support UNFPA Funding Act," said Nabeeha Kazi Hutchins, President and CEO, PAI. "UNFPA's mission reflects the world we are working toward every day at PAI- one without preventable maternal deaths or gender-based violence, and where everyone can access the lifesaving family planning and reproductive health services they need. We are grateful to the senators for championing this bill and standing with UNFPA, just as UNFPA has long stood with millions of women and girls worldwide."

"Everyone deserves access to quality health care, no matter who they are or where they live," said Alexis McGill Johnson, President and CEO, Planned Parenthood Federation of America. "Full stop. Yet ever since President Trump took office, he and his administration have attacked foreign aid programs, including funding for UNFPA, endangering the health and safety of millions of people across the globe. We thank Sen. Shaheen for introducing this legislation to support UNFPA and its critical work on reproductive and maternal health care around the world."

"The Trump administration assault on global health programs and family planning efforts specifically has caused untold suffering and threatens to undo decades of progress in reducing poverty, improving maternal and child health, and promoting economic development," said Brian Dixon, Sr. VP for Government and Political Affairs, Population Connection Action Fund. "United States support for UNFPA has played a crucial role in bringing essential and often life-saving reproductive health and family planning services to hundreds of millions of people around the world. It has helped provide educational and economic opportunities to girls and women and remains essential to building a more secure, more stable and healthier world for everyone. That's why this bill is so important. We're looking forward to working with Senator Shaheen to pass it and to begin to reverse the devastating actions of the administration to eliminate all assistance to UNFPA and to put safe, effective contraceptives out of reach for millions."

"UNFPA provides essential sexual and reproductive health care for people around the world, including in humanitarian crises, where it is often the first - and sometimes the only - responder to the unique needs of women, girls and young people," said Dilly Severin, Executive Director, Universal Access Project. "Congress now has an opportunity to stand up for American values and our country's commitment to the promise of 'health for all' under the Sustainable Development Goals by restoring critical funding to UNFPA."

"Thousands of Americans across all 50 states, including New Hampshire, where Sen. Shaheen serves, have voiced their support for UNFPA's lifesaving work," said Anu Surendran, CEO, USA for UNFPA. "Their voices reflect our values, compassion, and unwavering commitment to ensuring that millions of women and girls receive the care they need and deserve."

"UNFPA has played an irreplaceable role in protecting the health and welfare of women and girls all over the world - especially those displaced by conflict and emergencies, such as in Sudan, Ukraine, and Gaza," said Melanie Nezer, Vice President, Advocacy and External Relations, Women's Refugee Commission. "In every conflict and emergency where the Women's Refugee Commission has engaged in research, we've seen that refugees and other displaced women and girls face unique and particularly difficult challenges to accessing sexual and reproductive healthcare. Today, UNFPA's critical work is under constant threat of funding cuts and restrictions and limitations that make this work more difficult, even as more women and girls experience otherwise preventable gender-based violence, health complications, and maternal deaths. Congress must take action now to restore and protect funding to UNFPA."

Specifically, the Support UNFPA Funding Act would:

• Recognize the importance of the work of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), including its unique mandate to provide reproductive and maternal care in humanitarian crises by delivering voluntary family planning, maternal health services, midwife training and interventions to end child marriage and female genital mutilation;
  
  
• Highlight that in 2024, UNFPA provided sexual and reproductive health services to 10 million people across 49 countries and reached 3.6 million people with gender-based violence prevention, mitigation and response services;
  
  
• Establish as U.S. policy that financial support for UNFPA aligns with U.S. interests;
  
  
• Reaffirm congressional findings that UNFPA does not support or participate in coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization and complies fully with U.S. legal restrictions;
  
  
• Create a standing authorization for UNFPA to receive U.S. funding, except with respect to programs in China; and
  
  
• Authorize appropriations of $74 million for each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027 to support UNFPA's core programs and humanitarian operations.

This legislation is endorsed by Advocates for Youth, American Jewish World Service, American Society for Reproductive Medicine, Amnesty International USA, AVAC, Catholics for Choice, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Reproductive Rights, Global Health Council, Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation (GWPF), Guttmacher Institute, Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America, Ibis Reproductive Health, International Center for Research on Women, Ipas, National Health Law Program, Oxfam America, PAI, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Population Connection Action Fund, Population Council, Population Institute, Reframe Health and Justice, Reproductive Freedom for All, United Nations Association of the National Capital Area, United Nations Association of the USA, Universal Access Project, U.S. Women's Caucus, USA for UNFPA, The Well Project, Women Graduates USA and the Women's Refugee Commission.

Full text of the bill can be found HERE.

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