A group of Republican lawmakers is pressing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to block former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, a radical abortion activist, from becoming the next United Nations secretary-general.
They are calling her a “pro-abortion zealot” who has aggressively promoted abortion at the expense of national sovereignty.
In a letter obtained by The Daily Wire, the bicameral group of GOP members, led by Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., urged Rubio to instruct U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz to use America’s veto power as a permanent member of the Security Council to stop Bachelet’s selection.
“Bachelet’s resume reveals a pro-abortion zealot intent on using political authority to override state sovereignty in favor of extreme agendas,” the lawmakers wrote. “She has both overtly attacked pro-life laws — including those of the United States — and sought to weaken them through intimidation and coercion.”
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“Bachelet has repeatedly prioritized an extreme abortion agenda at the expense of state sovereignty,” they continued. “She is an unsuitable candidate, and the United States, as a permanent member of the Security Council, should veto Dr. Bachelet’s selection.”
Bachelet previously served as president of Chile, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the first executive director of UN Women. As Chile’s president, she authored legislation that legalized abortion.
As High Commissioner, Bachelet sharply criticized the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade. She called the ruling a “major setback,” a “huge blow to women’s human rights,” and a decision that “strips autonomy” from women.
Bachelet falsely described abortion as “firmly rooted in international human rights law,” claiming it “is at the core of women and girls’ autonomy.”
In 2022, she declared that “restrictive abortion laws and practical barriers pose a threat to human rights” and praised nations including Colombia, Argentina and Mexico for expanding abortion access.
A 2020 fact sheet issued by her office asserted that denying women access to abortion can violate rights to health and privacy and, in some cases, amount to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment. It further claimed that such denial constitutes “a form of gender based violence against women, which can amount to torture and/or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.”
The lawmakers firmly rejected that position.
“The truth is that killing an unborn child by abortion can never be construed to be a human right,” they wrote. “Every person — born and unborn — deserves to have his or her human rights secured and protected.”
They noted that Bachelet’s views conflict with the Geneva Consensus Declaration, signed by the United States and more than 30 other nations, which states there is no international right to abortion. The letter also warned that her record makes her untrustworthy to respect U.S. pro-life policies such as the Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance policy and the Hyde Amendment.
The Republicans further criticized Bachelet’s handling of human rights concerns in China. After being invited by the Chinese Communist Party to investigate the situation in Xinjiang, she released what they described as a “watered-down report literally minutes before her term expired.”
“In an appalling failure of leadership, Dr. Bachelet crumbled under pressure and enabled the CCP to manipulate the visit for its own advantage,” the letter stated.
The push comes as the Trump administration works to refocus the United Nations on maintaining international peace and security rather than advancing ideological agendas. President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of UN Women in January 2026.
