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A declared
war against the rights of women
Global obstruction
Ximena Machicao B. and Elizabeth Salguero C.
In January of this year, the Bush Administration re-imposed the rule to globally obstruct the population programme of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This policy is intended to restrict the Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that receive help for family planning, or use funds for legal abortion, - even though they do not come from the United States in order to offers services for legal abortion, to advise women on the abortion option, or refer them to health workers for a safe and legal abortion - even when their life or health is at risk, or lobby government to amend the laws restricting the practice.
Bush instructed that the requirements of the Mexico City Policy, in force since 19 January 1993, be fully reinstated. According to the Mexico City policy procedures for international development aid applicable at the time, foreign organizations may not use their funds to:
1. Carry out legal
abortions, even if the physical or mental health of the woman were at risk
(the only exceptions allowed being: violation, incest or if the life of the
woman were at stake)
2. Give direction or information on the availability and the benefits
of abortion and refer the patients to other health centres.
3. Lobby governments in order to: legalise abortion, maintain the
current law, and oppose restrictions that penalise the practice.
4. Carry out public awareness campaigns on abortion (1).
Regardless of the fundamental progress that has taken place in recent years to overcome the above mentioned restrictions, the Bush administration by again implementing this interventionist, extremist and anti-democratic policy, is doing nothing less than to declare itself against the principles accepted by the international community in Summit and World Conferences and Meetings.
Vienna, Cairo and Beijing, with the consensus and the political will of more than 180 governments, recognise that women's rights are human rights. These ratify that sexual and reproductive rights are included in the human rights already recognised in national laws, international documents and in other pertinent ones approved by consensus.
On the other hand, they confirm the necessity need that: "where abortion is not contrary to the law, the health systems should capacitate and equip those in the health service and take the necessary measures to ensure that the abortion is carried out in adequate conditions and that it should be accessible" (2) Agreement ratified in the United Nations System meetings evaluating the world conferences held in Cairo and Beijing + 5.
The new concept of sexual and reproductive rights, adopted world wide, extends the horizon of rights to all areas of reproduction, sexuality and gender relations. This means the need to overcome all economic, social and cultural barriers inhibiting free and responsible decision making with regard to reproduction and sexuality and obstructing access to reproductive health services
For their part, the Convention to Eliminate all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), that has a linking role with the States, recommends that sexual and reproductive rights be recognised and integrated in all public and private agencies and institutions, both nationally and internationally.
The Bush Administration, cynically and inhumanly, ignores through the global obstruction rule, that every year 80 million women have an unwanted pregnancy and that 20 million women, most of them in the poorest countries of the world, risk their lives undergoing abortion in risky conditions; with 55 thousand abortions taking place daily in unsatisfactory conditions (3).
By cutting back on available funds and prohibiting the rendering of integral health services, the health and lives of millions of women are put in jeopardy. These women need more aggressive and effectual plans and programmes to guarantee their sexual and reproductive health and the exercise of their rights.
The United States is one of those countries that prides it self in having a democratic system that guarantees its citizens freedom to express themselves and exercise their rights; beyond its frontiers, it claims to respect the free determination and autonomy of people. Nevertheless, it comes as no surprise that the "American dream" only exists in Hollywood. The practices and policies pursued are designed to generate wars, invade countries, violate, discriminate against and breach fundamental human rights.
The curtailment of the right to work in the amended laws - which historically have excluded and discriminated against women - means intervening in matters of internal policy, which is the exclusive responsibility of governments exercising sovereignty and self-determination. Limiting public debate and the possibility of men and women to discuss their needs, demands and rights, implies curtailing freedom of speech and thought.
It is not strange therefore, to compare the attitude taken by the Bush Administration with that of religious and cultural fundamentalists who, down through the ages, have tried to dominate women, belittling their rights and preventing them from taking decisions on how they should lead their lives and with regard to their sex health and reproduction.
The feminist movement worldwide, is taking actions intended to revert this situation and get the North American Congress to pursue a court action against the Bush Administration, on the basis that the global obstruction rule is neither constitutional nor democratic. We, the Bolivian feminists, have added our militancy to this endeavour, as silence would make us party to the unacceptable rates of mother mortality that exist in the so called "third world".
We reassert the right of all democratic societies to freely and autonomously decide their public policies on norms and procedures, without any type of imposition or restriction, least of all, from the North American Government. We therefore, DEMAND the right of NGOs to freely work on health issues and on matters of sexual and reproductive concern; and to openly promote the right of women to decide on an unwanted abortion.
(1) CLRP 2001
(2) Cairo 1994 World Action Platform
(3) IPAS, 2001
Ximena Machicao B. and Elizabeth Salguero C. are members of the Information and Development Centre of the Bolivian Woman - CIDEM-Bolivia
For more information and to participate in campaigns related to the subject:
CLRP:
e-mail: globalgag@crlp.org
Fax: 1(917) 637-3666
Postal address: 120 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005, USA
Laura E. Asturias,
Editor, revista Tertulia, Guatemala
http://www.geocities.com/guatertulia