Republicans want Secretary of State Marco Rubio to block the leading candidate for U.N. Secretary General before she gets anywhere near the job.
A letter sent Thursday and led by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) calls former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet “a pro-abortion zealot” and urges Rubio to direct U.N. Ambassador Michael Waltz to use America’s Security Council veto to block her selection. The letter, signed by a bicameral group of lawmakers, was first obtained by The Daily Wire.
“Dr. Bachelet’s resume reveals a pro-abortion zealot intent on using political authority to override state sovereignty in favor of extreme agendas,” the letter states. “She has both overtly attacked pro-life laws, including those of the United States, and sought to weaken them through intimidation and coercion.”
As a permanent Security Council member, the U.S. can veto Secretary General nominees outright. The lawmakers say that’s exactly what should happen here.
Bachelet has served as U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Executive Director of U.N. Women, and Chile’s president in two separate terms. Republicans say she used all three posts to push unrestricted abortion access on a global scale.
Her record is long. When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Bachelet called it a “major setback,” a “huge blow to women’s human rights,” and a ruling that “strips autonomy” from women. She’s called abortion “firmly rooted in international human rights law” and “at the core of women and girls’ autonomy.”
A 2020 fact sheet from Bachelet’s office went further still, claiming that denying abortion access can amount to “cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment” and labeling abortion restrictions “a form of gender-based violence against women.”
Smith’s letter pushed back hard: “The truth is that killing an unborn child by abortion can never be construed to be a human right. Every person, born and unborn, deserves to have his or her human rights secured and protected.”
“She is an unsuitable candidate, and the United States, as a permanent member of the Security Council, should veto Dr. Bachelet’s selection,” the letter reads.
