Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet told reporters she would use the UN’s top post to push for the full decriminalization of publicly funded abortion worldwide
The selection process for the next U.N. secretary general began in November 2025 – and one of the top candidates is an abortion extremist who supports abortion until birth.
The leading candidate is currently Rafael Grossi of Argentina, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency. One of the most discussed candidates, however, is Michelle Bachelet, the former president of Chile and former U.N. high commissioner for human rights.
Bachelet was initially nominated by Brazil, Mexico, and Chile, which was led at the time by a leftist government. Chile, which elected a staunchly conservative and pro-life government last year, has since withdrawn its support for her nomination. Bachelet is hoping the support from the other sponsoring countries will keep her candidacy viable.
Bachelet, however, has become increasingly controversial as her track record as U.N. high commissioner comes under scrutiny. According to Julia Książek at the Ordo Iuris Center for International Law:
During her tenure as the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, she was actively involved in promoting the so-called reproductive and sexual rights, which include, among other things, abortion – at least in the eyes of the abortion lobby, which for years has been using the concept of “sexual and reproductive health and rights” to try to sneak the so-called right to abortion into international law. … During a recent press conference after the hearing before the General Assembly, she announced that, while serving as Secretary-General, she would push for the right to abortion on demand up to birth, emphasizing the need to implement the decisions of the CEDAW Committee.
“This U.N. body is calling for the decriminalization of abortion in all cases, its public funding, and access for transgender people – including children – to gender-transition procedures and privileges associated with their preferred identity,” Książek noted. “Bachelet knowingly invoked CEDAW twice, even though U.N. treaties do not recognize abortion as a human right.”
Bachelet’s abortion extremism has attracted the attention of pro-life politicians in the United States. As first reported by Devex on March 30, a coalition of 28 GOP senators and members of Congress have called on the Trump administration to veto Bachelet’s bid, writing a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on March 25.
“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 incorrectly claimed that abortion is a human right while failing to provide an honest assessment of the true human rights abuses committed by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party).” The GOP leaders also noted Planned Parenthood’s support for Bachelet, as well as her pro-abortion track record as Chilean president, when she “campaigned on weakening Chile’s pro-life law protecting unborn life in all circumstances.”
As U.N. high commissioner, Bachelet published a formal statement the day Roe v. Wade was overturned, condemning the Dobbs decision. “Access to safe, legal and effective abortion is firmly rooted in international human right law and is at the core of women and girls’ autonomy and ability to make their own choices about their bodies and lives, free of discrimination, violence and coercion,” she stated, adding that Dobbs “strips such autonomy from millions of women in the U.S.”
The position Bachelet is vying for is significant. “The person holding the position serves not only as the organization’s highest official, but also as a mediator, an initiator of political action, and the symbolic representative of the international community,” Książek noted. “Amid rising geopolitical tensions, ideological disputes, and global crises, this choice assumes special significance, shaping how the entire U.N. system functions.”
Rubio is staunchly pro-life and his State Department has taken an active interest in pro-life efforts around the world, delivering a robust new Mexico City Policy in January and monitoring the arrests of pro-life activists in the U.K. Thus, it seems likely that the U.S. will vigorously oppose Bachelet’s candidacy.
“The United States is looking for a practical, driven, and reform-focused candidate who will safeguard the valuable contributions of member states, restore competent management, and streamline the organization significantly,” a State Department spokesperson told EWTN. “Any new secretary-general needs to return the U.N. to its primary purpose – maintaining peace and security in the world rather than the absurd, politicized, woke ideology that has undermined the institution’s effectiveness.”
