Republican presidential contender and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was director of a charity that gave tens of millions of dollars to Planned Parenthood, according to LifeSiteNews.
Bush was named one of the founding directors of the Bloomberg Family Foundation in 2010, sitting on the board until he resigned at the end of 2014 in preparation for his presidential campaign.
In March 2014, while Bush was still on the board, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced it was teaming up with Planned Parenthood Global and giving $50 million to a program to "support advocacy efforts for vital reproductive health reform in Nicaragua, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Uganda."
Part of that effort involved sending abortion activists into the countries to "help augment their capacity for effective advocacy," according to a Bloomberg Family Foundation statement.
"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," the foundation said.
"These organizations will receive technical assistance from Planned Parenthood Federation of America - Global Division to help augment their capacity for effective advocacy."
Michael Bloomberg, founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P., clarified how his family foundation planned to work together with Planned Parenthood, LifeSiteNews noted.
"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."
Advocacy was "necessary," because "there are plenty of outside interest groups funding the other side of these issues, and we cannot let them go unanswered," Bloomberg said.
"This is a fight [for] women [to] control their own destinies," he said. "And let me tell you: We are in it to help them win it, and we're gonna stay in it until they do."
Responding to the report, the Bush campaign issued a statement to the Daily Caller saying that "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."
