WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The popular television program "American Idol" is aligning itself with the agenda of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Save the Children. On March 8, 2007, "American Idol" announced its "Idol Gives Back" project, the stated goal of which is to "raise awareness of the effects of poverty on children and young people" in the United States and Africa.

"American Idol" has pushed for corporate to support its project. Corporate sponsors of the show, such as Coca-Cola and AT&T, were among the first to make a pledge to Charity Projects Entertainment Fund (CPEF) for every person who called to vote for a contestant on April 24. The Ford Motor Company also pledged to support the effort. Scholastic created a website designed for teachers and students to support the project.

On April 25, several celebrities will appear on the show to promote "Idol Gives Back." Americans were invited to call a toll-free number or go online to make a donation to CPEF, which will turn the money over to UNICEF, Save the Children, and several other groups.

"For years UNICEF spokesmen denied promoting contraception or abortion," wrote Winifride Prestwich in "UNICEF: Guilty As Charged." She said records prove that "step by step over a 30-year period UNICEF has tied itself to the population controllers and to the anti-life, anti-family attitudes of such organizations as the International Planned Parenthood Federation."

A major study released by the International Organizations Research Group (IORG) documented UNICEF's ties to abortion and radical feminism. Titled, "UNICEF: Women or Children First?", the report showed that UNICEF has helped write many documents that call for increased access to abortion and the legalization of the deadly act worldwide.

IORG discovered that UNICEF has funded a program run by the Population Council, the group that holds the U.S. patent for RU-486. UNICEF has also supported a South African group (LoveLife) that actively promotes abortion to its mostly underage audience.

It is now official UNICEF policy to "Promote and expand access to sexual and reproductive health services, including access to condoms," the IORG report stated. A high-ranking UNICEF official even called for his group to "make condoms available and accessible for everybody, everywhere and at all times. Abstinence is simply not a realistic option for most young people in the world today," the UNICEF official said.

Save the Children has a working relationship with what it calls "prominent international organizations." Among these groups are several that are actively pro-abortion, including Better World Fund, Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Population Action International, and the U.S. Committee for UNICEF.

In 2001, Save the Children worked with Planned Parenthood, the Population Action Council and the pro-abortion National Audubon Society on its five-year "Planet Campaign." Funded by the rabidly pro-abortion/population control David and Lucile Packard and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations, the purpose of the campaign was to "raise awareness of the connections between international family planning and the health of children, women and the environment."

The Planet Campaign used television and print advertising, press relations, community outreach, special events, and other activities to spread its message. Save the Children said the campaign's website provided "an international forum for discussion of, and action on, women's reproductive health--including family planning--in various countries and diverse cultures around the world."

Save the Children has stated that "family planning" has been a "critical component" of its work for nearly 20 years. The group quoted a UNICEF document which stated that "family planning could bring more benefits to more people at less cost than any other single technology now available to the human race." Save the Children noted that the report identified "access to family planning" as a "key factor contributing to maternal and child survival and well-being."

"It is laudable that the people involved with 'American Idol' want to help the poor," Scott said. "But it is tragic that they would choose to do so through groups like UNICEF and Save the Children. These groups have far too much deadly baggage." Scott urged pro-family Americans to support organizations that do not believe killing is an acceptable "solution" to poverty. People who are pro-family should not cast an 'American Idol' vote on April 24."