Abortion Matters Should Be Determined At National, Local Level, Not ‘International Right’ Under U.N. Documents, Opinion Piece Says

The Hill: No, abortion is not an international right, so the left should stop pushing it
Shea Garrison, vice president of international affairs at Concerned Women for America and affiliated faculty and policy fellow at George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government

“The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 63) came to an end [last] week at the United Nations in New York City. News reports warn that the U.S. seeks to decrease the rights of women and girls by taking away an international ‘right’ to abortion in U.N. resolutions. … [T]his information is inaccurate and misleading. … Promoted through the term ‘sexual reproductive health’ (SRH), legalized abortion is neither an international right, nor does it effectively support the goals of health, prosperity, and advancement of women and girls. … [C]ontrary to claims of abortion advocates, legalized abortion is not an international right but under the sovereignty of U.N. member states. The [Cairo 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD)] Programme of Action clearly states that any changes related to abortion are determined ‘at the national or local level according to the national legislative process,’ adding that ‘governments should take the appropriate steps to help women avoid abortion, which in no case should be promoted as a method of family planning.’ … Even so, western organizations widely promote legalized abortion at the U.N. and especially as an integral part of maternal health and decreasing maternal mortality … U.N. development aid should focus on what women really need to combat the majority of maternal deaths — like skilled birth attendants, antibiotics, blood banking, and uterotonics…” (3/23).

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