*Updated
Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush was one of the directors of a charity that gave tens of millions of dollars to Planned Parenthood, LifeSiteNews first reported.
Named a founding director to the tax-exempt Bloomberg Family Foundation in 2010, Bush sat on the board until the end of 2014 when he began to prepare for his presidential run.
Bloomberg Philanthropies announced in March of 2014, while Bush was still on the board, it was giving $50 million to strengthen “reproductive health rights in Burkina Faso, Nicaragua, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda.”
According to a Bloomberg Family Foundation statement, the philanthropy teamed up with Planned Parenthood to send abortion activists into these countries to “help augment their capacity for effective advocacy.”
“In 2014, we started supporting local nonprofit organizations in Burkina Faso, Senegal, Uganda, and Nicaragua to advocate for better policies in their countries that will expand access to comprehensive reproductive health services,” said the foundation.
“These organizations will receive technical assistance from Planned Parenthood Federation of America – Global Division to help augment their capacity for effective advocacy.”
Mike Bloomberg himself, Life Site News notes, discussed how his family foundation’s partnership would function with Planned Parenthood.
“I am happy to say our major partner in this project will be Planned Parenthood – Global,” Bloomberg said. “In some countries, our funding will help advocates work towards better sexual health policies for teens and better access to contraceptives. In others, we’ll help push for less restrictive abortion laws and more government funding for high-quality, accessible services.”
The Bush campaign responded to a Daily Caller inquiry with the following email statement:
“Governor Bush’s strong record of fostering a culture of life is clear, and he has called on Congress to investigate and defund Planned Parenthood in light of the recent alarming revelations about its practices. During his eight years in office, Governor Bush took measures to protect innocent life by passing a partial-birth abortion ban, fighting for a constitutional amendment requiring parental notifications and doing everything possible to promote adoption.”
“As a board member of Bloomberg Philanthropies, Governor Bush did not vote on or approve individual projects or programs. Governor Bush and Mayor Bloomberg disagree on several policy areas, including Planned Parenthood. They do share a passion for reforming education, which was Governor Bush’s focus on the board.”
