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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

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Fifteen years ago, more than 180 of the world’s governments came together in Beijing for the Fourth World Conference on Women. It was there that then-First Lady Hillary Clinton of the United States declared to assembled delegates, “Women’s rights are human rights, and human rights are women’s rights.”

On March 12th, as the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) meetings drew to a close, now-Secretary of State Clinton spoke again, calling for renewed commitment to the promises of the Beijing conference, affirming that “the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women” is “at the heart of the foreign policy of the United States.”  

While presenting a comprehensive agenda, she also gave special attention to the U.S. government’s Global Health Initiative (GHI), which gives priority to the health needs of women and girls. In accord with the GHI, the U.S. delegation at CSW successfully introduced a far-reaching resolution to eliminate preventable maternal mortality and morbidity, adopted by consensus. Among its notable provisions, the resolution:   

• Identifies leading causes of maternal deaths, including complications from unsafe abortion, as well as root causes such as early childbearing and gender discrimination;
• Urges Member States to eliminate maternal mortality and morbidity by strengthening health systems for women and girls, promoting and protecting the full enjoyment of all human rights by women and girls, including their access to sexual and reproductive health services and information;
• Encourages Member States to commit financial resources to eliminating preventable maternal mortality and morbidity, including through the financing, procurement and distribution of medicines, commodities and equipment.

Unsafe abortion is one of the causes of maternal deaths and injuries that can be most easily prevented, through increased use of contraception to reduce unintended pregnancies and increased availability of safe abortion care.  The World Health Organization has established that the known technologies of medical abortion and manual vacuum aspiration can be easily provided at low cost at the community level to save women’s lives and preserve their health. 

For young women, in particular, access to services is critical. “Young women are more vulnerable than older women to maternal mortality and morbidity, and unsafe abortion is a particularly critical issue for their health. They must have access to comprehensive reproductive health information and services, including safe abortion care,” says Maria de Bruyn, Ipas senior policy advisor, who attended the Commission meeting. 

Laura Villa, Ipas youth program associate, who also attended, added: “As a young woman, I know that we too often lack access even to basic sexual and reproductive health information, as well as treatment and care when we most need it. I hope this agreement will lead governments to pay more attention to the needs of young women, particularly the youngest ones, adolescents, whose rights to information and health are denied just because of their age.” 

Ipas, along with the International Planned Parenthood Federation and government of The Netherlands, addressed the special challenges facing young people at a panel session held during the Commission meeting. In addition, Ipas joined with other nongovernmental organizations in advocating throughout the two-week session for the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls.

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For more information, contact media@ipas.org