Ms. Magazine: Will Congress Reaffirm the U.S. Commitment to Reproductive Health and Rights Worldwide?
“[Tuesday], Representatives Lois Frankel (FL-21) and Barbara Lee (CA-13), alongside 36 members of Congress, introduced a resolution recognizing the 25th anniversary of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, Egypt and reaffirming the United States’ commitment to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights. … The progress made under the ICPD Programme — a 25 percent increase in voluntary access to modern contraception, declining numbers of deaths due to unsafe abortions and a decrease in maternal deaths — features prominently in the Resolution. But its authors also call attention to challenges remaining 25 years later. … The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is also marking the anniversary of the Cairo conference with a high-level convening this week in Nairobi, Kenya to advance the ICPD Programme of Action, which recognizes that reproductive health and gender equality are critical to global sustainable development…” (Rios, 11/12).