PO Box 20203, Washington, D.C. 20041
2008 September
International Pressure to Change Pro-Life Laws
International Planned Parenthood Federation Issues New “Toolkit”
International Planned Parenthood Federation has a new “toolkit” for its affiliates in countries around the world. The intent of the guide is to offer ideas, strategies and worksheets to increase access to abortion. Entitled “ Access to Safe Abortion: A Tool for Assessing Legal and Other Obstacles ” the document is meant to be used in conjunction with pro-abortion legal experts who will help evaluate legal conditions for abortion and ways to access abortion in individual countries. The document is a must read as it contains information on regulations and procedures which impede or block access to abortion and inadvertently provides pro-life policy makers with practical ideas for restricting abortion. It also includes a useful treaty reference guide and definition of treaty terms as well as a section on International and Regional Human Rights Instruments that seeks to analyze a country’s commitment to international treaties reviewing its submitted reservations on “sexual and reproductive health and rights.”
World Health Organization to Re-Focus on Primary Health Care, Encourages Its Use for Abortion
International Planned Parenthood reports that Margaret Chan, the new head of the World Health Organization (WHO), has announced a renewed effort to improve health and help nations meet the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by focusing on primary health care to reduce maternal and infant mortality among concerns. Chan says that improved health care will enable health systems to tackle a wider range of needs instead of concentrating on select health issues such as HIV/AIDS.
The entire plan will be released next month. Recent tactics by abortion activists have centered on use of the expression “integration” of abortion with primary health care to increase the availability of abortion. The full context of primary health care under this re-focus remains to be seen. The “wider range of needs” is likely to include a greater emphasis on providing greater access to abortion services wherever possible. In fact, in the WHO document, “ Safe Abortion: Technical and Policy Guidance for Health Systems ,” the use of primary health care centers is encouraged as a way to make abortions via the use the hand held abortion device and/or abortion pills more available.
African Parliamentary Committees Meet to Discuss Reproductive Health Including Misoprostol Use
A recent regional meeting of parliamentary committees on health in eastern and southern African countries featured discussions about the licensing and use of misoprostol. The meeting was organized by Equinet Africa , a consortium that combines organizations in the region with international NGOs, and which works with and/or receives funding from the WHO, UNAIDS, SIDA, and Rockefeller Foundation, among others. The meeting’s participants included parliamentary groups who are a part of SEAPACOH, an alliance of parliamentary committees on health in east and southern Africa who collaborate on key policy areas. MPs ended the meeting by passing resolutions calling for increased funding for sexual and reproductive health.
Speaking of the government of Uganda’s recent approval of the drug misoprostol for post-partum hemorrhage, Ugandan Health Minister, Dr. Stephen Mallinga explained the government’s decision to meeting’s participants: "It will help stop post-partum haemorrhage in mothers. It has other uses but we shall limit it to management of bleeding and induction." Misoprostol can induce abortion and is being used by pro-abortion groups as a way to circumvent pro-life laws. Uganda’s licensing of misoprostol limits its use to hospitals, where it is available free of charge.
Legislative News
Kenya: Pressure to Legalize Abortion
Kenya’s parliament will soon consider legislation to legalize abortion drafted largely in part by the Kenyan chapter of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA). The Chairperson of the organization, Violet Awori, was recently elected to serve on CEDAW.
Arguments supporting abortion legalization in the Kenyan press mimic those of pro-abortion advocates and include the claim that legalization of abortion is needed to meet obligations on reproductive and sexual health: “Kenya is also obliged under its international commitments to improve its reproductive and sexual health services in order to reduce the maternal and infant mortality in accordance with the Millennium Development Goals. The Maputo Protocol adopted by heads of state and government of the African Union in its 2003 summit in Mozambique, urges states to respect and promote the health of women especially in the area of sexual and reproductive health. Meeting these commitments requires an array of legal reforms, including a revision of the existing abortion law.”
The abortion bill is receiving a great deal of opposition, particularly from religious and cultural leaders, who acknowledge that abortion is not the solution to curbing maternal deaths. Both Muslim and Catholic leaders have urged Members of Parliament to oppose the bill, stressing that legalized abortion goes against religious and human norms. Chief Kadhi Shiekh Hammad Kassim stated, "This law is clearly against the teachings of Islam and our (Muslim) MPs have an obligation to ensure that it is not passed."
Australia: Victoria Parliament- One House Votes For Legalizing Abortion and the Other Against Euthanasia
This month in Victoria, Australia the lower house of parliament passed a bill legalizing abortion on demand for up to 24 weeks gestation. The proposed law, the Victorian Abortion Reform Bill, removes abortion from the Crimes Act and permits late term abortions with the approval of two physicians. The legislation is now pending consideration by the upper house, which this month defeated a bill to legalize euthanasia . The Physician Assisted Dying Bill, which would have protected doctors who helped kill terminal patients, was defeated by a vote of 25-13. Australian Christian Lobby group director Rob Ward welcomed the defeat, "The Victorian upper house politicians who voted against this bill should be proud of the role they have played in safeguarding our state from the travesty of turning doctors from carers into killers.”
Brazil: New Adoption Bill Will Help Indigenous Children at Risk for Infanticide
The Chamber of Deputies unanimously approved new legislation on adoption that contains provisions to help protect the lives of indigenous children at risk of infanticide. The socialist government had blocked consideration of Muwaji’s Law which directly confronted the horrendous cultural practice of infanticide for newborns considered “unfit”. Advocates for the lives of indigenous children are celebrating because the legislation provides them for the first time with the legal right to intercede to save and protect the lives of endangered children. It is also significant because for the first time the practice of infanticide among the indigenous tribes is acknowledged as a social problem. The legislation must now go to the Senate and then to President Lula for his signature. The Human and Minorities Rights Commission will hold a public forum in October to debate the theme of the documentary “Hakani” which depicts the horrors of cultural practices including the alive burial of a two year old girl named Hakani afflicted with a treatable developmental disorder.
Executive News
Nicaragua’s First Lady Responds to Radical Feminists
Nicaragua’s First Lady Rosario Murillo has assailed the international feminist movement for its disregard and disrespect of human life and the family. Responding to the ongoing criticism of Nicaragua’s law banning all abortions, First Lady Murillo pronounced radical feminism as “junk” and extolled authentic feminism which recognizes the unique roles and importance of both men and women. Nicaragua has been the object of attacks and pressure from US-based NGOs and European donor countries since the legislature eliminated so-called therapeutic abortion. President Ortega has consistently supported the policy and explains that life-saving procedures are not prohibited by the law as pro-abortionists claim stating: "The ideal is to save both. If, in the end, tragically, he (the doctor) couldn't save both, logically the mother or the child will have survived, and this is not penalized, it is not penalized!
Spain to Further Relax Abortion Law
Spain’s Equality Minister Bibiano Aido says the government will issue a new law making abortion more accessible this fall. The new law would grant anonymity to women obtaining abortions and greater protection to doctors performing them. Currently, Spanish law permits abortion for certain exceptions which include a woman’s “mental health,” the exception for which the majority of abortions are done. The new law, to make abortion even more available on demand, is expected to come into effect at the end of 2009 or early 2010.
Judicial News
Judge in Argentina rules rape victim cannot be forced to undergo abortion
A family court judge has ruled that a 12 year old girl who was the victim of rape cannot be forced to have an abortion. The girl told the judge she wished to keep the baby but her mother requested the abortion for her daughter citing mental health concerns. Judge German Ferrer announced measures to protect the girl and her baby and stated, “The fetus a developing person.”
The girl’s grandmother was appointed guardian; she also did not want the girl, who was violated by her step-father, to undergo the abortion. The judge insisted that the girl continue her education and be provided with housing, psychiatric and psychological care, groceries and assistance with other expenses. While the mother claimed the girl was experiencing mental problems as a result of the pregnancy the judge ruled that “after analyzing the entire situation, it was clear that” an abortion “could have induced a severe personality disorder, due to irreversible psychiatric pathologies such as psychosis.”
Issues
Peru’s Birth Homes Provide Indigenous Women with Medically Supervised Births
The Peruvian government’s birthing house initiative provides an innovative solution to maternal mortality and addresses a root cause of maternal death. Begun in 2004, this program creates birthing homes where indigenous women come to give birth with their families, maintaining cultural traditions, while also under medical supervision. The leading cause of maternal death among the indigenous women is hemorrhage after childbirth, a condition which can be treated with adequate medical care. This program is a start to reducing the rate of maternal deaths and is beginning to see increased numbers of women giving birth in medical centers. Former Health Minister Honorable Fernando Carbone cautions that prenatal care, pregnancy monitoring and the identification of pregnant women are also needed in order to ensure that the women receive optimal health care and maternal deaths are reduced. Cultural challenges remain, but this initiative is a step forward in the process of saving lives.
India: Raising Awareness of Eclampsia, a Leading Cause of Maternal Death
Physicians in India have launched the National Eclampsia Registry, giving eclampsia and pre-eclampsia, a leading cause of maternal death, much needed attention. Eclampsia (and its precursor pre-eclampisa) is a complication of pregnancy characterized by elevated blood pressure that, if left untreated, can lead to convulsions and death of the mother and unborn child. Intended to raise awareness of the treatable condition, the registry will include periodic workshops and public education programs. Similar programs are said to have helped improve eclampsia-related complications in Great Britain.
Down Syndrome Abortion Rate Hits 90 Percent— Pro-Life Group Responds
Increased prenatal testing has resulted in a 90 percent abortion rate of Down syndrome babies . These numbers are expected to rise following the recommendation by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists that all pregnant women, regardless of age and risk factors, have early testing for the condition. A new international project by Concerned Women of America (CWA) seeks to reduce this high abortion rate. The project will distribute brochures offering information and resources to families facing a prenatal Down syndrome diagnosis. Entitled, “When you’ve learned that your baby may have Down syndrome… There is help and hope!” the brochure features children and adults with Down syndrome and is available in both English and Spanish.
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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
