Defunding Does Not Muzzle Speech

The Washington Post this morning editorialized against President Bush’s denial of funding to non governmental organizations sympathetic to abortion. The Post took exception to what it characterized as the Bush administration’s decision to minimize funding for and participation in international conferences where pro abortion groups hold sway. It also complained about the denial of funding for groups that while not specifically focused on abortion nonetheless team with pro abortion groups in delivery of services. The Post opined that, “the attempt to deny conference platforms to groups that oppose the administration's view is inimical both to free speech and to scientific inquiry.”

This is moral relativity and sloppy thinking taken to a new extreme. The Post conceded the administration’s right to a pro life position: “Abortion will always be an agonizing issue, and the right balance between abstinence and contraception is a fair subject for debate.” At the same time, the Post argued that the administration must not translate its position into policy: “canceling grants that would have been used to allow delegates from developing countries to attend, is to drag the battles over abortion and conservative values into forums where they have no place.”

Only an idiot would argue that denying funds to pro abortion groups threatens free speech. In fact, it is the Post’s argument that poses the greater threat to free speech. If an administration must fund the very groups that oppose its policy positions, then the voice of the people who elected the administration will be neutered.