You fucking Christian rightards make _all_ of us look like morons.
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US Draws Jeers for Abortion Comments at UN
By Deborah Zabarenko
http://tinyurl.com/4m539
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Jeers and catcalls greeted the top U.S.
delegate to a global women's conference on Friday as she stressed
Washington's opposition to abortion and support for sexual abstinence
and fidelity.
After withdrawing an unpopular anti-abortion amendment from a key U.N.
document, the United States joined in approving the declaration that
reaffirmed a 150-page platform agreed 10 years ago at a landmark U.N.
women's conference in Beijing.
However, top U.S. delegate Ellen Sauerbrey drew boos from the audience,
which included some of the 6,000 activists who came from around the
world, when she commented on Washington's interpretation of the
document.
"We have stated clearly and on many occasions ... that we do not
recognize abortion as a method of family planning, nor do we support
abortion in our reproductive health assistance," Sauerbrey said.
The loudest catcalls, unusual at the world body, came when she
articulated U.S. policy on AIDS (news - web sites) prevention for
adolescents: "We emphasize the value of the ABC -- abstinence, be
faithful, and correct and consistent condom use where appropriate --
approach in comprehensive strategies to combat the spread of HIV (news
- web sites)/AIDS and the promotion of abstinence as the healthiest and
most responsible choice for adolescents."
Earlier Friday, Sauerbrey said the United States was dropping its
demand that the document be amended to say that abortion is a matter of
national sovereignty and not a human right delineated by the 1995
conference in Beijing.
After a week of closed-door negotiations at the United Nations (news -
web sites) during a two-week conference on women's equality, Sauerbrey
said the U.S. point had been made and therefore Washington's amendment
was no longer needed.
The first version of the abandoned amendment said the Beijing meeting's
final document did not recognize abortion as a fundamental right; a
later version said the document did not create any new international
human rights, code for abortion.
"We think we have really accomplished what we set out to do," Sauerbrey
said. "We have heard from countries ... that our interpretation is
their interpretation. So the amendment we recognize is really
redundant, but it has accomplished its goals. We will be withdrawing
the amendment."
Despite U.S. lobbying, public support for Washington's abortion stance
was initially limited to the Vatican (news - web sites) delegate;
delegates from the European Union (news - web sites), Asia and
elsewhere forcefully opposed it.
"The text of Beijing is unequivocally clear. We should not spend hours
splitting hairs over phrases that mean the same thing," said New
Zealand's U.N. Ambassador Don Mackay, speaking for his country, Canada
and Australia. He emphasized that the Beijing document included a
woman's right to control her own sexuality.
The current U.N. session is meant to assess how far women have come
toward equality since the 1995 Beijing conference and a follow-up
meeting five years ago. Organizers seeking consensus drafted a
streamlined document they hoped would be easily approved without
controversy.
The U.S. amendment was seen by some as a distraction from the main
goals of the conference -- economic development and women's equality --
but Sauerbrey said, "I don't think in any way we have interfered with
the flow of work."
Amnesty International spokesman Alexandra Arriaga praised the U.S.
move.
"We welcome the U.S. decision to join the international consensus and
affirm that women's rights are human rights," Arriaga said. "What was
clear was that the United States had a very specific agenda it brought
to the U.N. and that the world unanimously rejected an effort to hijack
the commission."
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http://www.ElmerFudd.US/ http://www.notserver.com/
Scientology crooks: http://sf.irk.ru/www/ot3/otiii-gif.html
Scientology murder: http://PerkinsTragedy.org
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