U.S. Stance on Abortion and Condom Use Rejected at Population Conference

The United States lost a vote at the end of the UN-sponsored Asian and Pacific Population Conference in Bangkok Tuesday, as Asian Pacific countries rejected the Bush administration's stand against abortion and condom use among adolescents. The conference adopted a plan of action on population policies in a bid to reduce poverty in the region. The 22-page plan included a series of recommended steps to implement an international family planning agreement reached in Cairo in 1994. It suggested fighting poverty by concentrating on 12 areas including family planning, gender equality and combating HIV/AIDS.

Population policies "must encompass the principle of voluntary and informed decision making and choices, the preservation and protection of human rights, including the matters related to reproductive rights and reproductive health services," the plan says. It also includes "consistent condom use" -- a phrase the United States wanted struck out -- as a way to reduce vulnerability to HIV infection.

US delegates said that "reproductive health services" and "reproductive rights" could be read as advocating abortion and underage sex. Conference delegates said the ministerial meetings were often heated, with the United States seeking to pressure other countries.

"We wanted a development oriented conference, but the issue we had a heated debate on was abortion and underage sex," said Kim Hak-Su, executive secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

Faced with a deadlock, the conference took a vote -- highly unusual at UN conferences -- on two key chapters of the plan. The United States lost the first vote 31-1 with two abstentions, and the second 32-1 with two abstentions, allowing the population plan to be adopted. The United States ended up agreeing on the plan without change, said Thoraya Obaid, executive director of the UN Population Fund. Its concerns were attached in a separate document that will not affect the plan.

U.S. support for population programs is important for the region. Earlier this month, the Bush administration blocked $34 million in funds appropriated by Congress for the UN Population Fund.

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