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Internatioal Pressure for Abortion
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Parliamentarians Call for Access to Abortion in 2030 Agenda
The recent UNFPA supported Global Conference of Parliamentarians on Population and Development Toward the 2016 G7 Ise-Shima Summit (G7 GCPPD) concluded in Japan with a declaration that was considered "an important contribution" for the upcoming G7 Ise-Shima Summit. The declaration includes a commitment to "remove
legal barriers preventing women and adolescent girls from access to
safe abortion, including revising restrictions within existing abortion
laws, and where legal, ensure the availability of safe, good-quality
abortion services."
The conference was hosted by Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) and Japan Parliamentarians Federation for Population (JPFP)
with support from UNFPA and IPPF. The parliamentarian population and
development networks exist regionally around the world to implement 1994
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and
Development (ICPD PoA) and support the outcomes of the ICPD beyond 2014
radical regional reviews which the legislators through the declaration
state "constitute regional plans of action".
Dr.
Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA, addressed the
gathering of lawmakers declaring, "Parliamentarians are our essential
partners". UNFPA has worked to network parliamentarians to advance its
agenda including on abortion since it was decided at ICPD that laws on
abortion need to "be determined at the national or local level according
to the national legislative process". This "Cairo caveat" has been the
center of UN debate on abortion since 1994.
The
parliamentarians' six page declaration includes support for the radical
agenda advanced by UNFPA which fails to reach consensus during meetings
at the United Nations. The declaration endorses "access to full
reproductive health services", which includes abortion, and SRHR in a
number of sections. The parliamentarians specifically call on the G7 to:
1.1
Invest in Universal Health Coverage to support equity and rights by
focusing on the most marginalized and vulnerable populations, including
women and girls, delivering comprehensive sexual, reproductive,
maternal, newborn, child and adolescent primary health care services,
and by ensuring services are provided regardless of ability to pay.
1.2
Enable every woman and girl to have access to full reproductive health
services, including in humanitarian settings, and especially in conflict
and post-conflict situations, and make informed, independent choices
regarding her sexual and reproductive health and rights as a vital and
necessary basis for building sustainable societies... the strengthening
of access to SRHR is essential for women's and girl's empowerment and
the realization of all other goals.
The 100 parliamentarians from countries in Asia-Pacific, Africa, Americas and Europe were told of their essential role in furthering the 2030 Agenda by Keizo Takemi, Chair of the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) who stated,
"The
role of parliamentarians is explicitly laid out in Transforming Our
World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Declaration, Means of
Implementation: 'We acknowledge the essential role of national
parliaments through their enactment of legislation and adoption of
budgets and their role in ensuring accountability for the effective
implementation of our commitments.'.... The GCPPD takes place at a
crucial moment, one month after the adoption by the UN Statistical
Commission of a global indicator framework and associated global and
universal indicators. The GCPPD will give global parliamentarians a
platform to deepen their understanding of parliamentarians' collective
role at the global level, reaffirming the role of parliamentarians both
at the national and global levels in the SDGs era."
The 42nd G7 Summit takes place in Ise-Shima, Japan on May 26-27 and
will be the first G7 Summit to be held since the adoption of the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development that purports to ensure that "no one
is left behind" but fails to include a whole class of
individuals-vulnerable unborn children.
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Council of Europe Criticizes Italy for Conscientious Objectors
The Council of Europe's social rights committee has criticized
Italy, saying abortions are too difficult to get because doctors are
refusing to perform them. The committee accepted pro-abortion arguments
that women are often forced to go elsewhere or abroad to obtain an
abortion. The committee's inquiry was spurred by Italy's largest union,
CGIL, which complained of the growing rate of conscientious objection
among physicians. The Italian government noted that 70 percent of
gynecologists are conscientious objectors. A formal response from the
government to the Council is to follow.
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Pro-Life News
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Trinidad and Tobago: Health minister defends pro-life laws in face of Zika
Trinidad and Tobago's health minister defended the country's
pro-life laws following a call by the Family Planning Association for
the law prohibiting abortion to be revisited following the country's
first confirmed case of Zika in a pregnant woman. Health Minister
Deyalsingh told reporters:
"That [pro-life position] is the law
of Trinidad and Tobago and that is the law I swore to uphold...Further,
one could look at the Code of Ethics of the Medical Board of Trinidad
and Tobago, which tells doctors: you must not perform abortions unless
the physical and mental well-being of the mother is at risk.
Those are the guidelines, those are
the laws, those are the ethical guidelines which I as Minister of Health
and a member of the Cabinet, and a member of government will be
upholding.
"We feel that at this point in time,
the existing laws reflect accurately the majority view of Trinidad and
Tobago, notwithstanding anyone's personal view or other associations
which may have a different view. We feel that these laws are adequate to
deal with the issue of abortion and reflect the vast majority view
including and inclusive of the silent majority who will not speak on the
issue."
The health minister's comments were enthusiastically received and
welcomed in light of the growing pressure from the Family Planning
Association, an affiliate of IPPF. Its press release called for
immediate revision of the law against abortion stating that "There
is no (more) pressing time than now for the Government of Trinidad and
Tobago to revisit its position on abortion to ensure access to safe
abortion services for women who have Zika infection and might wish to
have an abortion because of fear of microcephaly. There is need for an
urgent response at the service provision, research, and policy levels."
Pro-life leaders in the country have a petition, along with
CitizenGo, to Health Minister Deyalsingh and Prime Minister Dr. Keith
Rowley to thank them and to express support for their efforts to
reaffirm their offices' commitment to protecting human life. Support the
petition:
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US House Hearing Investigates Sales of Unborn Baby Body Parts
The
U.S. House Select Panel on Infant Lives held a hearing to investigate
the sale of fetal tissue from aborted babies. Evidence presented at the
hearing affirmed that the horrific practice is indeed happening and that
there is a market- and value- for a baby's body parts. "It
is just horrifying," said Rep. Marsha Blackburn. "They are putting a
dollar value on these organs from these children-unborn children that
have been aborted. It is just beyond belief."
The
Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives was created last October to
investigate the use of middleman procurement businesses in the transfer
of fetal tissue from abortion clinics to institutions or other
organizations for research. Federal law prohibits the profiting from the
sale of baby parts as stipulated in the 1993 National Institutes of
Health Revitalization Act. Abortion supporter then-Congressman Henry
Waxman said of the law, "It would be abhorrent to allow for a sale of
fetal tissue and a market to be created for that sale." However, failure
to enforce this law has resulted in a thriving market.
Read more here.
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EP: WG on Bioethics and Human Dignity exposes Neonatal Infanticide
A
conference was held at the European Parliament hosted by the EPP
Working Group on Bioethics and Human Dignity on the "Medical, Legal
& Ethical Aspects of Neonatal Infanticide" with Miroslav Mikolásik,
MEP from Slovakia, co-president of the Group, to explore the reality of
late term abortion in Europe and the killing of babies who survive by
neglect or direct action. Laws regulating abortion vary across Europe
with a number permitting abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Witnesses
presented facts and details from human rights considerations to
psychological and legal observations. The European Centre for Law and
Justice (ECLJ) showed video testimonies of physicians and midwifes
who assisted in various ways in neonatal infanticide and late term
abortions and witnessed the reality which ECLJ hopes will have a
significant impact in raising awareness of this horrific criminal
practice all over Europe.
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Focus on the United Nations
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IPPF/WHR Director to receive 2016 UN Population Award
UNFPA has announced the two recipients of the 2016
United Nations Population Award for outstanding achievement in the
fields of population and health. One is a woman who has worked to
increase access to abortion in Latin America and the Caribbean by
serving as Director of the International Planned Parenthood
Federation/Western Hemisphere Region (IPPF/WHR), Carmen Barroso.
Barroso, retired from IPPF, is currently a member of the Independent
Accountability Panel on the Global Strategy on Women, Children and
Adolescents Health, formed by the United Nations Secretary-General in
February 2016 which includes access to abortion as a key component of
the strategy.
According to UNFPA's announcement of the award, "Ms.
Barroso's contributions to population questions and their solutions had
a great impact through her leadership of major organizations, according
to documents submitted to the Population Award Committee."
A member of the Governing Council of IPPF, Esther Vicente stated about the work of the retiring Barroso,
"Through
its 40 local partners in the Americas and the Caribbean, IPPF/WHR
provided more than 28 million sexual and reproductive services last
year, including contraception, HIV treatment, and safe abortion. ...I
have been proud to advocate side by side with Carmen. She is so
diplomatic yet tenacious that she was able to position IPPF/WHR as one
of the most effective organizations promoting sexual and reproductive
rights with national governments, the UN, and international
donors-Carmen is fearless."
Barroso in announcing her retirement last month stated,
"And throughout my tenure with IPPF/WHR, I have witnessed progress. I
have seen the elimination of restrictive abortion laws in Mexico,
Colombia, and Uruguay. I have seen youth in Peru take to the streets to
successfully overturn a law that denied them access to sexual and
reproductive health services. I have seen significant steps forward for
the implementation of comprehensive sexuality education programs in
numerous countries...Thanks
to your support, we have increased the number of services we provide
and pushed back against conservative forces that seek to deny
individuals the sexual and reproductive rights they want, need, and
deserve."
According to UNFPA, each year the Committee for the Population Award "honors
an individual and/or institution in recognition of outstanding
contributions to population and reproductive health questions and to
their solutions." The
second recipient is the Childbirth in Dignity Foundation, a Polish
organization promoting improved quality of care for mothers and
newborns.
The
Population Award was established by the United Nations General Assembly
in 1981 and consists of a gold medal, a diploma and a monetary prize.
The Committee for the 2016 Population Award is chaired by Paraguay and includes Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Benin, Gambia, Ghana, Haiti, Iran, Israel and Poland.
The award will be presented at the United Nations on June 23.
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Legislative News
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Poland: Civic bill to ban all abortions
A civic bill to ban all abortion is underway in Poland. The Civic Legislation Initiative: Equal legal protection for children before and after birth
was drafted by the Stop Abortion Committee with significant
contributions from the Ordo Iuris Institute. According to the process
for civic initiatives, the Committee has three months to collect 100,
000 signatures of support. It is expected the bill will be in Parliament
in July and voted on in September, at the earliest. The bill would
eliminate Poland's three exceptions to abortion: rape, incest and life
of the mother.
Pro-life and pro-abortion response has been growing. Thousands of pro-life advocates marched
in the streets of Poland in support of the bill while pro-abortion
activists have staged protests at Polish embassies in select capitals in
Europe with a protest planned for May 1 at Poland's embassy in
Washington, DC, organized by 'Catholics for Choice'.
Eleven pro-abortion Members of the European Parliamentary Forum
on Population and Development penned an open letter to the Hon. Marek
Kuchciński, Marshall of the Sejm, urging him to "reject the initiative
introducing a complete ban from being registered to collect signatures".
Not only are they opposed to the bill but they oppose the process which
gives citizens the ability to petition the government on this issue.
Thirty-three pro-abortion members of the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe signed a declaration, Reproductive health and
women's rights in Poland, opposing the proposed bill and taking
exception with language to define the concept of "prenatal murder" and
replace the term "human foetus" with "conceived child".
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Canada: Parliament Begins Consideration of Euthanasia Bill
Canada's House of Commons has begun consideration of a bill to legalize euthanasia.
The bill, C-14, is sponsored by the Liberal government and proposed to
replace the law prohibiting assisted suicide that the Supreme Court
struck down in February 2015. Specifically, C-14 permits euthanasia for
persons 18 years and older suffering an incurable illness which causes
them distress, are in a state of decline and for whom a natural death is
'reasonably foreseeable'. Requests for euthanasia would be made in
writing and need to be approved by two medical professionals.
Conservative and New Democrat MPs criticized the bill's vague language
which does not provide protections against abuse and which fails to
include any conscience protections. The House of Commons is set to
continue consideration of C-14 in May.
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Oklahoma: State Senate Passes Legislation to Ban Abortion of Babies with Down Syndrome
The Oklahoma Senate passed legislation
to ban abortions based on a diagnosis of Down syndrome by a vote of
39-6. The Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act, sponsored by Sen. Greg Treat,
would prohibit abortions for Down syndrome and hold doctors who violate
the law criminally responsible. It is estimated over 90 percent of Down
syndrome unborn babies are aborted. A similar bill passed the state's
House by a vote of 78-10; the bill is now headed to a conference
committee for a final version. If enacted, Oklahoma would become the
third state to protect unborn babies with Down syndrome from abortion.
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Executive News
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Bolivia: Ministry of Justice partnering with Ipas for training on abortion
The Ministry of Justice in Bolivia is partnering with pro-abortion US NGO Ipas in a new initiative to increase access to legal abortion. Ipas has been training police and now will train judicial
and policy personnel "on the legal provisions for abortion and
guidelines for handling cases in which women seek abortion care."
Abortion in is legal in cases of rape, incest and risk to a woman's life
or health. A 2014 court ruling eliminated the need for judicial
authorization for abortion and Ipas claims that "Personnel in the
police, judicial and health sectors are not informed about the 2014
court ruling which guarantees women the right to an abortion," which
seeks to correct through training.
President
Morales presented Ipas' newly released "Guidelines for the Care of
Victims of Sexual Violence" at an event last month. The guidelines "explain
the legal obligations of institutions involved with sexual violence
cases-specifically rape, statutory rape and incest-to guarantee victims'
right to sexual and reproductive health care, including the right to
choose emergency contraception or safe, legal abortion."
Ipas
announced that it also plans to train staff within the Ministry of
Health, the legal and justice systems, the national police force, and
the national program for victim assistance, as well as indigenous
authorities and legal defenders of children and adolescents.
Ipas Bolivia's Spanish language materials can be accessed here.
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UK: Health minister reveals zero complaints against pro-life advocates
The response of a health minister
to a parliamentary question by Cat Smith, MP, reveals the truth that
had been hidden in a campaign to prevent interaction between pro-life
volunteers and women seeking abortion. The argument being advanced was
that 'buffer zones' were needed around abortion clinics in response to
"women being harassed routinely on their way to have abortions". The
question posed by Ms Smith to the Secretary of State for Health was
whether it "has received any representations from NHS staff who feel
they are being harassed outside NHS buildings by protesters."
The answer came via Ben Gummer, a junior health minister, who stated: "There
have been no representations from National Health Service staff who
feel they are being harassed outside NHS buildings by protesters.
Although protesters are democratically entitled to make their views
known on abortion and other issues and can do so outside NHS hospitals
and other NHS buildings, we would condemn any harassment of NHS staff,
patients and others."
Pro-life
sidewalks counselors offer help, not harassment to expectant mothers
according to SPUC which also reports that a number of young women have
taken their own lives shortly after having an abortion reporting they
felt pressured into the abortion. SPUC asks,"What might have happened
if someone had been there that day to offer them support - would they
and their babies still be alive?" and responds, "We may never
know, but certainly we do know that there are women who were given the
strength to reject abortion and choose life because of the support
offered by pro-life volunteers."
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Issues
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Studies Show Sex-Selective Abortion Actively Practiced in Canada and the U.S.
Recent
studies have revealed that the practice of sex selective abortion is
actively happening in Canada and the United States. Previously thought
to occur in China, India and other Asian countries, it is now clear it
is occurring in western countries as well. Two papers out of Canada
focused on the prevalence of boys born in Canadian Indian communities.
The researchers called for the enactment of laws to end the practice.
"A
majority of Canadians, the Canadian Medical Association, the Society of
Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the College of Physicians and Surgeons
of British Columbia, and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of
Ontario have all publicly condemned sex-selective abortion," said Mike Schouten, director of WeNeedaLAW.ca.
In
the United States, a major study of Census data found that among
Chinese, Indian and Korean families with two daughters showed a ratio of
151 boys to 100 girls born, a significantly skewed ratio. The study
from the Charlotte Lozier Institute shows the sex ratio of babies born
among Asian-Pacific populations in the U.S. and U.K. has climbed
significantly in the last 20 years, clearly pointing to the practice of
sex-selective abortion.
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Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues
Advancing global respect and dignity for life through law
and policy.
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www.pncius.org |
Visit us on the web!
www.PNCIUS.org
has been updated with expanded information on Human Dignity and critical
issues including: Abortion, Bioethics, Child Mortality, End of life issues,
Infanticide, Maternal mortality and Sex-selective abortion.
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Contact PNCI |
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Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues
P.O. Box 20203
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info@pncius.org
All news articles include links to original source. PNCI cannot verify that the
information contained in the news articles is accurate.
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