News

Statement also supported abstinence and families

UNITED NATIONS, April 3, 2002 (LSN.ca) – Speaking on the first day of meetings at the United Nations session of the Commission on Population and Development, a United States delegate spoke against promotion of abortion. On April 1 Sichan Siv said the United States did not accept the use of the term “reproductive health services”, because it could be interpreted to include promoting the legalization or expansion of legal abortion services.

According to a UN report on the meeting Siv said: “it was important to focus on sound, evidence-based strategies to improve the lives of women, he said, rather than using dated or non-existent data as the basis for analysis. That was most apparent in the section on abortion. The lack of current, accurate and comprehensive data in that section led to questions regarding the validity, purpose and intent of the analysis. In fact, key actions in the ICPD Programme of Action called upon governments to take appropriate action to help women avoid abortions, but progress in that area was absent from the report.”

The US statement also supported abstinence and families. “Abstinence and postponement of initial sexual activity played important roles in the promotion of adolescent health, including the prevention of HIV/AIDS,” said Siv. Turning to the issue of families, he stressed the value of strong and stable families in preventing risky behaviour among young people.

See the full UN report on the session:  https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2002/POP818.doc.htm