Is Bush Administration "Turning Back the Clock" on Women's Health and Rights?
November 5, 2002The heads of leading organizations in the reproductive health and population fields today asserted that the Bush Administration would be "turning back the clock" on women's health and rights if recently reported U.S. actions and statements at a regional meeting on population held in Bangkok last week (29-31 October) now represent official U.S. policy.
Heads of Family Care International, the International Women's Health Coalition, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Population Action International, The Alan Guttmacher Institute, and The Centre for Development and Population Activities are urging U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to clarify whether a State Department delegation at the meeting was acting on the Administration’s authority in refusing to reaffirm support for a model agreement for improving women's health and helping slow population growth that was adopted by 179 countries at the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994.
"The agreement reached in Cairo in 1994 affirmed the most basic of human rights: the right of all people to decide for themselves on when and how many children to bear and the right of all individuals to good reproductive health free from the fear of death or disease.
"If, as appears to be the case, the Bush Administration is withdrawing support for this agreement, it would mark a fundamental shift in longstanding U.S. foreign assistance policy and conflict sharply with the Administration’s oft-repeated support for women’s rights, family planning and related health programs.
"Despite sometimes intense political conflict over these programs, the U.S. government's population assistance program has maintained remarkable continuity in both focus and investment through the administrations of six Presidents — Republicans and Democrats — and sixteen Congresses. The United States was one of the first countries to provide family planning aid and U.S. leadership — both technical and financial — has been indispensable and has encouraged other nations to strengthen their support for these critical programs.
"We call upon Secretary of State Colin Powell to clarify the Administration's position and urge him to reaffirm, rather than renounce, the longstanding worldwide consensus in recognition of the critical importance of reproductive health to women's lives.
"We call upon other governments and on our colleagues in civil society around the world to stand firm and speak out against this latest attempt to turn back the clock on women’s reproductive health and rights."
Population Action International (PAI) works to improve individual well-being and preserve global resources by mobilizing political and financial support for population, family planning and reproductive health policies and programs.
