UN prepares for abortion debate at Cairo meet
UN prepares for abortion debate at Cairo meet
JAKARTA (JP): The topic of abortion is likely to be a
contentious one at the international conference on population and
development in Cairo next month, a UN representative said
yesterday.
Ali Ugur Tuncer, the resident director of the UN Population
Fund, stressed however that the seminar will treat the question
of abortion strictly as a health issue and not a family planning
matter as many have suggested.
"Abortion is not contraception. However, it is a reality and a
fact -- whether it is conducted legally or not -- and for this
reason it should therefore be discussed," Tuncer said during a
seminar on "The Road to Cairo -- Population, Sustained Economic
Growth and Sustainable Development" organized by the local UN
Information Center.
The Cairo conference, scheduled for Sept. 5-13, will be
attended by a number of world leaders. President Soeharto has
been invited to address the gathering on behalf of the Non-
Aligned Movement.
Tuncer said that although the UN intends to discuss abortion
strictly as a health issue, some institutions have tried to
capitalize on it and "make the issue bigger than it actually is."
More than 15,000 abortions take place each year in the world
and 25 to 30 percent result in the mother's death, he said.
Illegal abortions, if carried out, often take the form of
unhygienic and unsafe practices, which in turn can result in very
serious health problems, he added.
Abdullah Cholil, Chairman of the National Committee for the
International Conference on Population and Development, agreed
that the abortion debate has shifted to the question of the
rights of the mother and is no longer about contraception.
In the run up to Cairo, the world body and the government of
Egypt have been criticized for including abortion and other
controversial issues in the agenda.
Both the Roman Catholic Church and the oldest Moslem
institution in the world, Al Azhar University in Cairo, on
separate occasions expressed their dissatisfaction over issues
such as abortion, women's rights, family structures -- including
sexual rights and homosexuality -- and adolescent sexuality which
are all incorporated in a UN document.
They condemned the document, saying that its language was
ambiguous and tended to promote abortion and extramarital sex.
WHO
State Minister of Population and Chairman of the National
Family Planning Board Haryono Suyono said those who oppose the
inclusion of abortion in the agenda suggested that it should be
handled by the World Health Organization and not by the UN's
population agency.
"They are demanding that the issue be entirely removed from
the conference's agenda," Haryono said.
He added that another group, however, insists that the issue
of abortion should be discussed in all forums, whenever possible.
"In their opinion, the sooner the issue is discussed and a
conclusion -- that abortion is not part of family planning -- is
reached, the sooner we can get away from it once and for all and
proceed with other matters," he said.
Haryono explained that although Indonesia has incorporated the
issue of abortion in its health legislation and not in family
development or population growth regulations, it has yet to
specify the specific considerations in which abortions may be
carried out.
"Women who want an abortion in some parts of the world
actually have to walk and carry by themselves the 9.5 liters of
water they need to have an abortion at clinics miles away from
their homes," he said, adding that family planning is the best
way to curb the suffering of such women.
Fifteen thousand participants from government delegations are
expected to attend the conference while another 4,000 to 6,000
participants from non-governmental organizations will hold a
simultaneous conference. (pwn)