PO Box 20203, Washington, D.C. 20041
2008 March
PNCI Advisory
Monitor Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals
A new UN website , designed by Yahoo and Google, is counting the minutes to the UN deadline for achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and monitors each country’s progress. The eight MDGs were adopted by leaders from 189 countries in September, 2000 in recognition of the new millennium and a new commitment to reduce extreme poverty worldwide by the year 2015.
While these goals are laudable, those who seek to protect unborn children and their mothers from the violence of abortion must be vigilant that access to abortion is not advanced, especially in the achievement of the fifth MDG—to improve maternal mortality. PNCI recommends that pro-life policy makers monitor their country’s progress on the MDGs. An additional UN website lists the complete and detailed statistics for each country under the listing Data Availability by Country.
For some countries, the statistics can be useful in defending the pro-life position. Brazil is under great pressure to legalize abortion to reduce maternal deaths, yet according to the MDG data, Brazil is on target to achieve the reduction of maternal mortality while maintaining an existing law that protects women and unborn children from abortion. There is also acknowledgement for many countries that there is insufficient information on maternal mortality to make an evaluation. Accurate statistics simply do not exist. The numbers for maternal deaths used by pro-abortion advocates are often guesses and estimates based on an ideological model.
International Advance of Abortion
Africa-Radical Feminist Organizations Target MPs in 7 Countries
Parliamentarians in Africa are targeted by radical feminist groups who are anxious to see the domestication of the African Union’s Protocol on the Rights of Women, known as the Maputo Protocol, implemented through national laws. US-based Equality Now, the African Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) and the African organization Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR) are focused on the provisions of the Maputo Protocol that deal with abortion.
A press release by Equality Now states that the Protocol “is also known for its comprehensive provisions on reproductive rights. The Protocol allows for “medical abortion in cases of sexual assault, rape, incest, and where the continued pregnancy endangers the mental and physical health of the mother or the life of the mother or the unborn child.”
The release is particularly critical of Lesotho, Mauritania and Senegal for prohibiting abortion completely while having ratified the Protocol and also criticizes Libya, Malawi, Mali, and Nigeria for having tight abortion restrictions. Therese Niyondiko of FEMNET states: “These seven State Parties, must domesticate the Protocol by broadening their laws to address reproductive rights more comprehensively.” Pro-life lawmakers and pro-life activists in these seven countries are advised to be extra vigilant for actions to legalize and increase access to abortion.
Latin America- Pro-abortion organization Ipas Increases Activities
Ipas has increased its activities in Latin America to advance legal abortion through the use of the hand held abortion device—manual vacuum aspirtator (MVA) — and chemical abortion. Ipas states that its plans include training journalists to influence public opinion on abortion, advancing legal abortion, training health personnel to use the MVA, and conducting its own research on the “effects” of pro-life laws on maternal mortality. Ipas is active in a number of Latin American countries where it is also works to legalize medications such as the morning after pill and the gastric medication Cytotec, also known as Misoprostol, for obstetric purposes including legal self-induced abortion.
International Pro-Life Actions
Pro-Life Doctor Suggests Ways to Reduce Maternal Mortality Worldwide
Testimony was given to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives during a hearing on maternal mortality by Dr. Robert L. Walley, Executive Director of MaterCare International. Dr. Walley relayed his experience saving women’s lives in Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Rwanda and Kenya. He lamented that while billions of dollars are budgeted by governments to so-called reproductive health programs only a small portion of those funds are spent on the greatest need—preventing the death of pregnant women and new mothers.
Dr. Walley addressed the lack of political will in providing access to health care for women and strongly condemned the actions of pro-abortion organizations saying, “I have found that mothers in Africa are becoming aware of what has been done to unborn babies in the rich world. They are becoming increasingly angry and resistant at attempts at coercion by NGOs to make them accept the killing their babies which is totally contrary to their faith and cultural and beliefs. It is egregious that any government or international health agency should suggest that the lives and health of African mothers should be improved by the killing of their unborn babies.”
The fact that most maternal deaths occur in the last trimester of pregnancy and in the first week after childbirth was explained by Dr. Walley who suggested that lawmakers focus on providing prenatal care, trained birthing assistants and access to health care facilities for obstetrical emergencies to reduce maternal mortality. He elaborated that if governments were really serious about saving women’s lives they would ensure that women had access to: complete prenatal care (including adequate nutrition), treatment for common medical conditions—especially for malaria, HIV, severe anaemia, and immunization against tetanus—access to emergency care for management of life threatening conditions such as obstructed delivery and complete care after childbirth to treat complications of blood loss and infection.
Legislative News
Council of Europe- Report Calls for Legalized Abortion in EU Countries
A Council of Europe parliamentary committee is considering a report calling for all EU Member States to make abortion-on-demand a publicly funded right. Entitled “Access to Safe and Legal Abortion in Europe,” the report also calls on governments to make abortion accessible, lifting all restrictions, and invokes “equal protection” among states, thus creating a standard that trumps states’ sovereign laws. David Fieldsend of the Brussels-based CARE-Europe challenged the report’s assertion that legalized abortion leads to fewer abortions, citing the examples of Denmark, Sweden and the UK- countries with the most liberal abortion laws who also have the highest abortion rates. If the report is passed, it will next go to the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly. Any action will be non-binding as the legislating body for Europe is the European Parliament of the European Union. Source: Life Site
UK-Concern Legalized Abortion Will be Imposed on Northern Ireland
The House of Lords has finished action on The Human Fertilization and Embryology (HFE) Bill which now goes to the House of Commons for debate. Responding to pressure from the Catholic Church and Labour MPs, Prime Minister Brown has agreed to a conscience vote on the legislation. The bill raises new ethical concerns including the creation of human and animal hybrids for research purposes and increased access to abortion .
Concerns remain that the HFE Bill could legalize abortion in Northern Ireland through the “back door” by extending the UK’s Abortion Act to the nation. Prime Minister Brown has given no assurance that this will not happen. Precious Life Director Bernadette Smith points to the Northern Ireland Assembly’s passed motion as evidence that the country and its people do not want legalized abortion imposed on them. “Gordon Brown must acknowledge Northern Ireland's opposition to abortion. Westminster cannot be allowed to over-ride the democratic process here by attempting to impose abortion on Northern Ireland. The law here regarding abortion must be dealt with by the Northern Ireland Assembly only,” she said.
Canada-Unborn Victims Legislation Advances
The Canadian parliament has further advanced the Unborn Victims of Crime Act, acknowledging that there are two victims in a crime committed against a pregnant woman. The bill, similar to the Unborn Victims of Violence law in the United States, passed a second reading vote by 147 to 133. If enacted, the law would permit prosecutors to bring two charges when a woman and her baby are injured or killed. Source: Life News
Executive News
Colombia- Free Morning-After Pill for Adolescents
The Colombian government has instituted a new program to dispense free “emergency contraceptives” and the morning after pill to all women of child bearing age, including adolescents. All teenagers can participate in the program, and women who are enrolled in a government or private health plan can receive the drugs. Colombia is the second Latin American country to offer free emergency contraception to its people. Source: Life Site
India- Government to Compensate Families for Raising Girls
In an effort to curb the rampant killing of baby girls through abortion and infanticide, India has launched a new program giving financial incentives for families to raise girls. Girls in India are discriminated against due to cultural and financial preferences that favor the male child including the expense of providing a dowry for a girl at marriage. Advances in technology such as pre-natal sex determination tests have made the practice of sex selective abortion easier and more rampant. The Indian government will pay the families 200,000 rupees (about $5,000) for each girl at the time when she reaches the age of 18, is educated, in good health, and is not married. Source: Hamilton Spectator
Issues
Britain- Doctors State Abortion Causes Mental Health Problems
The Royal College of Psychiatrists has changed its previous position to acknowledge that abortion does cause mental health problems in women. As a result of new research indicating that such a relationship exists, the College now suggests that this information be made available to women considering abortion. This news comes as MPs are about to vote on a measure reducing the upper time limit from 24 weeks to 20 weeks for abortions “for social reasons.” It is estimated that 90% of 200,000 abortions each year are done on the grounds that a continued pregnancy would cause mental strain. Source: Sunday Times
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The Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues (PNCI) is committed to networking members of democratically-elected legislatures in efforts to advance respect for the inherent value, worth, and inviolable dignity of every human being from the first moment of existence. PNCI issues the Parliamentary Network E-News to provide lawmakers, and those who work with them, news from various sources on the international threat to pro-life laws and current legislative and judicial actions on critical life issues challenging parliamentarians around the world. PNCI is a project of Life Issues Institute.
All news articles include links to original source. PNCI cannot verify that the information contained in the news articles is accurate. info@pncius.org
