PO Box 20203, Washington, D.C. 20041
2009 May Volume 3, No 5
Focus on Latin America
PNCI Warns: Pro-Abortion Organizations are Targeting the Organization of American States (OAS)
Pro-abortion activists seeking to advance an "international right to abortion" through manipulation of regional and international bodies and treaties are targeting the Organization of American States (OAS) in an effort to overturn national pro-life laws and policies in the Americas. Currently, NGOs -including IPPF, Center for Reproductive Rights, Catholics for Free Choice, Human Rights Watch, and CLADEM- have targeted the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR), the human rights body of the OAS, to advance access to abortion as part of "sexual and reproductive rights".
The just released IACHR Annual Report 2008 lists the actions of its committees, including that of the Rapporteurship on the Rights of Women, which reveals reasons for concern and the need for monitoring. The Rapporteurship reports in section #74 that with financial support from the governments of Spain and Finland it will begin to identify: "the major advances made and the challenges women face to be able to exercise their rights, free of discrimination, in the spheres of political participation and reproductive rights."
The Rapporteurship also held two joint meetings with the OAS Committee on Women (CIM) in Washington, DC. with NGOs and officials from the UN and African Union who also work on reproductive health issues. The meetings were entitled: "Protection of Women's Reproductive Rights" and "Discrimination against Women in the Exercise of their Reproductive Rights." According to the report, the meetings, "intended to identify, through a participatory process, the principal advances made and the challenges women face in the exercise of their reproductive rights, encompassing issues such as the discrimination women may face in access to reproductive health services and access to information and to the education required to make informed decisions in this area." PNCI notes that "reproductive health services" is widely accepted at the UN as including access to abortion.
The final item reported by the Rapporteurship centers on thematic reports on discrimination and violence against women in Haiti and Chile. The related document Observations of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights upon Conclusion of its April 2007 visit to Haiti reveals the position of the Rapporteurship on abortion. While reporting on advances to promote the legitimate rights of women, the Commission favorably reported that the Haitian Ministry of Women's Status and the Rights of Women "is also contemplating the submission of a law that legalizes abortion."
The Commission not only viewed the legalization of abortion as an acceptable component of women's rights but recommended that Haiti's national government fund the initiatives so they can be implemented. PNCI suggests that lawmakers, pro-life leaders, and religious officials develop close communication with their ambassadors and delegates to the OAS to ensure that the actions of OAS entities do not advance access to abortion.
International Pro-life Actions
WHO Basing Policies on Faulty Findings
A new report exposes the World Health Organization's (WHO) faulty data collection and analysis in order to promote abortion policies. The paper, "Removing the Roadblocks from Achieving MDG 5 by Improving the Data on Maternal Mortality," by Donna Harrison, M.D., President of the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, was published by the International Organizations Research Group (IORG), a division of C-Fam. The paper demonstrates how the WHO's figures on maternal mortality are largely inaccurate and inconsistent and do not have clear definitions on "safe" and "unsafe" abortion; an inconsistency which even pro-abortion organizations have criticized. Marie Stopes International, for example, takes exception claiming that the abortions it performs illegally in countries are "safe" abortions. (PNCI notes: Marie Stopes International along with IPPF had been denied US funds under the now rescinded Mexico City Policy and will under the Obama administration soon be receiving millions of US dollars.)
Dr. Harrison quotes WHO researchers who admit to "adjusting the data" up to 50 percent based upon what they "expect to find" in order "to make the numbers turn out right." Adding further to the confusion, maternal death statistics for abortion combine "spontaneous abortions", or miscarriages, with induced or planned abortion, making no distinction between the two. Harrison makes suggestions for improving data collection and warns that if the WHO does not improve its ambiguous statistics and policies, "Policy decisions will be founded on political assumptions, rather than scientific fact."
Chile Stands Up To International Pressure to Legalize Abortion
Chile is standing firm in its protection of life in the face of strong international pressure to legalize abortion. Countries, led by Finland and Sweden, and pro-abortion groups urged the nation to change its laws to permit abortion at a recent meeting of the UN Council on Human Rights. Responding to the report, the Chilean government has emphasized its intent to keep its current laws protecting life regardless of the outside pressures. The Holy See also contributed to the UN High Commissioner's report, recommending that Chile, "continue to adhere to the cultural and religious values which make up the identity of the country in defence of the right to life and in defence of the right of the family."
Legislative News
Mexico: San Luis Potosi Makes 13 States To Pass Pro-Life Protection in Recent Months
The Mexican State of San Luis Potosi has become the 13th state to pass a constitutional amendment protecting life from conception to natural death. The measure which passed by a vote of 21-4 demonstrates again the Mexican people's overwhelming objection to the legalization of abortion in their states. The passage of pro-life amendments in now 13 Mexican states comes in response from pro-abortion pressure following Mexico City's 2007 law legalizing abortion.
Spain: Parliament Considers Legislation to Expand Legalization of Abortion
Legislation before the Spanish parliament seeks to further expand access to abortion. The bill, proposed by the ruling Socialist Worker's Party, would allow abortion on demand for the first 14 weeks of pregnancy and permit adolescents as young as 16 access to abortion without parental consent. The legislation, which has been approved by the Council of Ministers, is being actively opposed by the Catholic Church and the main opposition party, Spain's People's Party. Mariano Rajoy, leader of the People's Party, pointed out that the bill is unconstitutional, and that "the law is bad in its foundations and its form and doesn't help women," he said.
Executive News
Sweden: Sex-Selection Abortion is Legal
The Swedish government has determined that sex-selective abortions are legal. Under Sweden's law, abortion is permitted on demand for any reason up to 18 weeks of pregnancy. However, a recent case of a woman who aborted two children due to their sex caused physicians to seek clarification of the law. The Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare consequently ruled that abortions must be provided for any reason, including sex-selection.
Poland: Former President Lech Walesa Would Have Resigned if Forced to Legalize Abortion
Lech Walesa-former President of Poland, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and leader of the labor movement Solidarity whose influence helped end the Cold War- stated in Spain that he would have resigned as president "twenty times" rather than sign a law to allow abortion in Poland. He called abortion "the killing of innocents". Walesa made his comments during a visit to Spain whose social government is moving to extend abortion to the second trimester.
Judicial News
Nepal Supreme Court Rules Legal Abortion Not Enough, Must Also Be Accessible By All
Nepal's Supreme Court has ruled that the government must pass a law guaranteeing women's access to abortion. While abortion is legal in Nepal, abortion promoters want the law to go even further. The suit, brought forth by the Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of a low-income woman who could not afford an abortion, argued that abortion wasn't readily available to all women due to cost, physicians, and lack of information. The Supreme Court's ruling instructs that the new abortion law include public funding for abortion services and education and outreach of their availability.
Issues
Life Affirming Solutions to Maternal Mortality: Anti-Shock Garments
An ongoing study in Nigeria is looking at the use of non-pneumatic anti-shock garments (NASG) as a first aid device to save the lives of women who suffer from obstetric hemorrhage in childbirth. The life-saving garments help control the loss of blood to the body and have proven successful in women suffering from hemorrhage in childbirth- the leading cause of maternal deaths around the world. Once a woman is identified with hemorrhage the NASG can help keep her alive until she can receive or reach treatment. The $11 million study will next implement the use of the anti-shock garments in Nigeria and India.
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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
