|
| Secretary of State Hillary Clinton |
|
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stood for women all over the world when she brought reproductive rights and health to the fore during her testimony before House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
“We happen to think that family planning is an important part of women’s health, and reproductive health care includes access to abortion, that I believe should be safe, legal and rare,” Clinton said in response to questioning from Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ).
Painting a vivid picture in favor of the full spectrum of reproductive health care, Clinton said, “When I think about the suffering that I have seen of women around the world, I’ve been in hospitals in Brazil where half the women were enthusiastically and joyfully greeting new babies and the other half were fighting for their lives against botched abortions. I’ve been in African countries where 12- and 13-year-old girls are bearing children. I have been in Asian countries where the denial of family planning consigns women to lives of oppression and hardship.”
Clinton went on in response to Rep. Smith, adding, “I spent a lot of my time trying to bring down the rate of abortions and it has been my experience that good family planning and good medical care brings down the rate of abortion. Keeping women and men in ignorance and denied access to services actually increases the rate of abortion.”
Every year, nearly 67,000 women die from complications from unsafe abortion. These women are mothers, sisters, wives and daughters, and their deaths devastate the communities and families for whom they are caretakers. Access to family planning is a crucial element in the prevention of unsafe abortion, along with access to safe abortion services and well-trained providers.
“We applaud Secretary of State Clinton’s resolve and the Obama administration’s commitment to valuing women’s health and lives, here in the United States and abroad. The time has come for the U.S. government to stop censoring the global discourse on abortion and reproductive health. Secretary of State Clinton’s testimony proves we’re heading in that direction,” says Elizabeth Maguire, Ipas president and chief executive officer.
For more information, contact media@ipas.org