U.S. Drops Request for Amendment Stating That Right to Abortion Not Established in 1995 U.N. Women's Rights Platform

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 04 Mar 2005 - 10:00 PDT

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The US delegation on Wednesday at a... United Nations review of the Fourth World Conference on Women platform dropped its "contentious demand" for an amendment that would have clarified that the 1995 conference platform does not include a right to abortion or create any new international human rights, the New York Times reports (Hoge, New York Times, 3/3). Participants at the 1995 Beijing conference adopted a platform stating that abortion should be safe in places where it is legal and that criminal charges should not be filed against any woman who undergoes an illegal abortion. The platform also stated that women have the right to "decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality ... free of coercion, discrimination and violence." Ahead of this year's review, the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women -- which organized the two-week meeting expected to be attended by delegates from more than 100 countries and more than 6,000 women's rights advocates -- proposed a declaration asking the participating countries to reaffirm progress toward the Beijing platform. However, Bush administration representatives said last week that the United States would not sign on to the declaration because of concerns that the platform classified legal abortion as a human right and on Friday proposed an amendment that would reaffirm U.S. commitment to the platform and declaration "while reaffirming that they do not create any new international human rights and that they do not include the right to abortion." Diplomats from Egypt, Qatar and Vatican City had indicated support for the U.S. amendment on Monday, but diplomats from the 25-nation European Union on Tuesday announced their opposition to the amendment (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 3/2).

Reasoning for Dropping Amendment
Richard Grenell, a spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the United Nations, on Wednesday said that the Bush administration's goal was to "ensure that the intent of the document hammered out in Beijing was clear," Reuters reports. "We are hearing from many delegations that they agree with us, and they advise us that the amendment is therefore not needed," Grenell said (Zabarenko, Reuters, 3/2). U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Ellen Sauerbrey at the meeting on Wednesday said that the United States recognizes the principle "that abortion policies are a matter of national sovereignty, and we are pleased that so many other countries have indicated their agreement with this position." She added, "We anticipate that we can now focus clearly on addressing the many urgent needs of women around the world" (Lederer, AP/Kansas City Star, 3/2). Some European envoys said they expect the United States to issue a separate statement opposing "so-called sexual rights" as it did in a preparatory meeting for the conference that was held in December 2004 in Geneva, according to Reuters (Reuters, 3/2).

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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