U.S. Wants Avowal Against Abortion

Ten years after a landmark U.N. women’s conference in Beijing, thousands of delegates convened here Monday to review the world’s progress toward equality for women. But the meeting was plunged into controversy when the U.S. insisted that delegates declare that women have no right to abortion.

This week’s session, attended by 80 government ministers and thousands of other delegates from nearly 100 countries, aims to reinvigorate efforts to improve women’s lives as outlined at the 1995 Beijing conference. The U.N. Commission on the Status of Women had hoped to avoid controversy and focus on issues such as preventing HIV/AIDS, improving girls’ education and halting sexual trafficking.

But negotiators from Washington say it is equally important for delegates to put in writing that the session does not create any new human rights, such as the right to abortion.

“We’d like to join with other nations in reaffirming women’s rights and empowerment,” said Mark Lagon, deputy assistant secretary of State for international organization affairs. “The United States is looking for concrete recognition that those documents from 10 years ago do not create new human rights with the weight of a treaty or a right to an abortion. The U.S. believes that there is international consensus on that.”

But Monday evening, only Egypt and Qatar supported the U.S. position. Most other delegations agreed that the Beijing plan of action did not imply a right to abortion and that they were wary of opening the document to reinterpretation. The U.S. representatives stood firm, signaling that a debate over the issue could dominate the week’s discussions.

At the 1995 conference, negotiators agreed to treat abortion as a public health issue, and the platform said that it should be safe where it is legal and that women should not be punished for having one. It left legal decisions up to each country.

“This is a policy document. It’s not a human rights convention,” Kyung-wha Kang, the session’s chairwoman, said of the Beijing platform and this week’s proposed declaration to affirm it. “It should not be seen as creating any new human rights.”

Adrienne Germain, president of the International Women’s Health Coalition, said the U.S. delegation’s position took the focus off American progress.

“The U.S. is looked to by others as a leader in the promotion and protection of women’s rights,” she said. “But while other countries are moving forward, this is a regressive, backward step.”

The U.S. has also proposed two resolutions. One aims to halt human trafficking and calls for a worldwide ban on prostitution. The other proposes reforming inheritance laws that favor sons, extending credit to women and allowing women to own property.

Some countries believe those proposals would undermine their traditions and laws.

At the opening ceremony Monday, U.N. officials and delegates said that women had been closing the gap in inequality during the last 10 years but that serious challenges remained.