U.S. 'reaffirmation' of Cairo agenda neglects to address importance of safe, legal abortion worldwide

Ipas welcomes the United States government’s statement Thursday in support of the Programme of Action from the 1994 U.N. International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) but notes that it is consistent with the Bush administration’s record of undermining women’s reproductive health and rights by refusing to recognize the reality of unsafe abortion.

“Under this president, ideology has trumped public health, as government efforts to reduce maternal mortality have steadfastly ignored one of its principal causes – and one of the easiest to prevent,” said Ipas President Elizabeth Maguire. “Since the Cairo conference, more than half a million women have died from complications of unsafe abortion. Through policies such as the Global Gag Rule, this administration has actively thwarted efforts to prevent those deaths.

“We’re pleased that the administration has publicly expressed its endorsement of the general principles underlying the landmark Cairo agreement and we recognize the important role the United States plays in funding global reproductive health programs,” said Maguire. “But by distancing itself from the commitment to make abortion safe where it is legal, the U.S. government has shown yet again that it is out of step with the global community and callous in its lack of regard for the realities of women’s lives.”

In September, Maguire noted, about 700 individuals from 109 countries – many of them representatives of nongovernmental agencies working on behalf of women’s health and rights – met in London to assess progress implementing the Cairo Programme of Action ten years after its adoption.  Delegates to the Countdown 2015 Global Roundtable stressed the need to go beyond the commitments made in Cairo. They called on the international community to make safe, legal abortion accessible and available to every woman who chooses it, in order to protect women's health, lives and rights.

Background:
Wednesday more than 250 global leaders—including 85 heads of state and government—delivered to the United Nations a statement fully endorsing the so-called Cairo Consensus. Although the United States was a leader in developing the 1994 agreement, on its tenth anniversary the administration of President George W. Bush declined to join that endorsement, saying it was uncomfortable with the document’s reference to “sexual rights.”  Thursday, the Bush administration issued its own statement, expressing overall support for the principles behind the Cairo agreement but specifically noting that its endorsement hinges on the understanding that the document does not “promote, endorse, or support abortion.”

For more information, contact:
Kirsten Sherk
Senior Associate, Media Relations
e-mail: sherkk@ipas.org
phone: 919.960.5612
fax: 919.929.0258