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Email: "UN Commission on Human Rights: Violence Against Women Resolution"

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BY LifeSiteNews.com GENEVA, April 19, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The last item Monday was the introduction of the Violence Against Women resolution by the Canadian delegation. The Canadians introduced the resolution on behalf of 40 co-sponsors. The main problem surrounding this resolution centers on paragraph 7 which states:  “...Violence against women has an impact on their physical and mental health, including their reproductive and sexual health and, in this regard, encourages States to ensure that women have access to comprehensive and accessible health care services and programs and to health care providers who are knowledgeable and trained to recognize signs of violence against women and to meet the needs of patients who have been subjected to violence, in order to minimize the adverse physical and psychological consequences of violence…”  The problem with this paragraph lies in the term ‘health care services’, which is dangerous when it appears in any context that has to do with reproductive and sexual health.  The US called for an amendment to the paragraph. They called for the explicit deletion of the word “services” as this language may be interpreted to include abortion.  Costa Rica made a strong statement supporting the US proposal citing that the Costa Rican constitution firmly defended the right to life and was thus in opposition to any proposal that might include a right to abortion on demand.  As the procedure in the committee dictates, any proposed amendments to the resolution are voted on separately and then the resolution is voted on as a whole. Tuesday morning, the vote on the US proposal to delete ‘services’ will take place and will be followed by a substantive vote on the entire Violence Against Women resolution.  Pro-life lobby groups have been handing out flyers to Muslim and Latin American countries. The lobbying flyers include the transcript from the June 2001 Child Summit prepcom in New York wherein ‘health care services’ was defined as abortion inclusive. The transcript appears as follows:  US: “Can somebody explain to me what services means”?  Canada: (Representative Andras Vamos-Goldman) “I do not understand why the distinguished delegate asks the question, because he knows the answer, but of course it includes, and I hate to say the word, but it includes abortion.”  LifeSiteNews.com will update with results of the vote as the information becomes available. http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/un-commission-on-human-rights-violence-against-women-resolution/

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