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Catholic World News News Feature

UN Commission On Status Of Women Suspended Amid Chaos March 21, 2003

Chaos erupted at last week's UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), as countries struggled over controversial abortion language and commission chairmen engaged in what many observers considered to be biased behavior. Amid great confusion, the meeting was suspended until next Tuesday, with the status of the controversial language unresolved.

Trouble started when the European Union (EU) introduced language supporting abortion. One EU-proposed paragraph calls for countries to "ensure that all human rights of women are respected...including sexual and reproductive health." In UN parlance, reproductive health includes abortion, thus, this statement appears to be an attempt to recognize abortion as an international human right.

Another EU paragraph calls for all states to "put an end to impunity and prosecute those responsible for violence against women...such as...forced pregnancy." Radical feminist legal scholars use the term "forced pregnancy" to mean that a woman cannot get an abortion. A University of Chicago Law Review article from 1992 says, "The partial enslavement of a forced pregnancy is only the beginning of the price a woman denied an abortion pays." A Brooklyn Law Review article from 1994 says, "Legislation that restricts access to abortion is unique in that it is directed at women as a class, has the dramatic effect of forced pregnancy, and historically has significantly oppressed women." The term first appeared in a UN document during the negotiations to establish the International Criminal Court (ICC). Radical feminists refused to define the term, preferring that the definition remain elastic, but they lost and it was defined in the ICC as excluding abortion. This is the first attempt since then by radicals to resurrect the term for their own use. The efforts caused deep acrimony on all sides.

According to witnesses to the chaotic negotiations, pro-abortion delegations from Europe and a number of nongovernmental organizations such as the European Women's Lobby actually shouted while other delegations called for the removal of the "forced pregnancy" language.

The chairman of the negotiating session seemed unable or unwilling to restore order, leading some to question his motives. Peter Smith, chief administrative officer of the London-based Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), said, "The chairman of a negotiating meeting is not meant to allow delegations to shout down other delegations, and that is what he did. Incredible intimidation was permitted to occur. And it was permitted to occur against anyone who had any pro-life sentiment at all. The chair's bias shone through."

As the Friday afternoon deadline approached, the chairman of the plenary session also engaged in questionable behavior, closing the meeting as many pro-life delegations waved their placards angrily in the air, hoping to have their objections heard. Negotiations are to resume on Tuesday.

Pro-life groups look to the US, Muslim countries, traditionally Catholic countries, and the Holy See for leadership in ending this effort to recognize abortion as a human right. Unfortunately, they note that the Holy See has been strangely silent in these negotiations.