UNITED NATIONS, March 3, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In late breaking news today, LifeSiteNews.com has learned that the proposed US amendment, to clarify that the UN Beijing +5 Document and Platform for Action do not propose abortion rights, did not achieve consensus at an informal negotiation meeting this afternoon.
LifeSiteNews.com sources on the scene have revealed that the measure represents a pro-life victory nonetheless as the vast majority of countries reiterated during the meeting that they did not consider the UN documents to confer new rights to abortion, and thus the amendment was unnecessary.
The bickering over the proposal also exposed the fact that Canada and several European nations would like to interpret the documents as conferring an international right to abortion.
However, that interpretation was soundly rejected by the majority of nations. In fact, according to LifeSiteNews.com sources, Ms. Kyung-wha Kang of Korea, the Chairperson of the current 49th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, confirmed during the meeting that the Beijing documents created no new international rights nor the right to abortion.
U.S. Ambassador Ellen Sauerbrey, head of the U.S. delegation, said yesterday, “It is clear that there was no intent on the part of States supporting the Beijing documents to create new rights . . . including the right to abortion.”
She added, “The United States recognizes the International Conference on Population and Development principle that abortion policies are a matter of national sovereignty. And, we are pleased that so many other governments have indicated their agreement with this position, and we anticipate that we can now focus clearly on addressing the many urgent needs of women around the world.”