Update from New York: Do UN Delegates Get it on Abortion?
By Joseph A. D'Agostino

NEW YORK CITY-Nicaragua came out strongly against abortion during her
presentation on Wednesday, April 6, at the UN Commission on Population and
Development.  So far, Nicaragua is the only country to do so, and the only
other chance will come Friday afternoon when the final drafts of
resolutions will be voted on. "The government of Nicaragua rejects
abortion and under no circumstances could it be considered as a means of
regulating fertility or birth control, just as it was made clear in the
International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo; all
domestic legislation which regulates this is a matter of Nicaraguan
sovereignty. . .," said Nicaragua's representative on the floor of the
meeting.  "The government reiterates on this occasion the reservations
that were expressed in relation to the terms 'sexual and reproductive
health,' 'sexual rights,' 'sexual and reproductive health services,' and
other similar wording and it is intended once more that these do not
include abortion."  It is not clear if this means Nicaragua will support
the pro-life amendment to the commission meeting's draft resolution. As
pro-life non-governmental organizations (NGOs) try to drum up support at a
UN conference here for an amendment excluding abortion from "reproductive
rights" language, many delegates from even supposedly pro-life countries
have been unreceptive.  "We don't have to worry about it.  'Reproductive
rights' includes abortion only in countries where it is legal.  Abortion
is illegal in our country," said a delegate from the Philippines.  The
Irish delegate said he, too, wasn't concerned.  A delegate from Australia
seemed friendly until we told her we were from the pro-life, pro-family
coalition.  Most delegates from Latin America have been non-committal on a
proposed amendment to the UN Commission on Population and Development's
draft resolution, reaffirming a previous declaration, that would state
that "nothing therein creates a right to abortion." Some delegates from
Muslim and from African nations have been more receptive, as well as those
from the United States.  It's not that the other delegates say they favor
having the United Nations promote abortion around the world; they say that
there is no need for our amendment.  The executive director of the United
Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Thoraya Obaid, assured me that
UNFPA-which is playing a big role at this conference-and its member states
did not want the agency to promote abortion, and that the phrase
"reproductive rights" is not and should not be interpreted to include
abortion. Yet other UN organs and other international organizations have
used the UN's previous declarations in favor of reproductive rights and
"sexual and reproductive health services" to argue that nations must
liberalize their abortion laws.  We hope that the UN commission adopts the
simple amendment proposed.  If the delegates and UN officials believe what
they are saying, they should not object to language that just removes the
right to abortion as an issue. While here, we have also gathered more
evidence buttressing our previous work.  A medical professor from Kenya
who is also a delegate said that until two years ago, clinics in his
country were bursting with population control and family planning supplies
while other medical products went scarce-a fine example of Western aid
agencies' priorities.  The situation has recently improved, he said.  We
will be writing more on this topic in the near future.  Next week, we will
write about the conclusion of the conference.

Joseph A. D'Agostino is Vice President for Communications at PRI.

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