London, England, Oct 22, 2007 / 06:55 am
A coalition of women's groups and health organizations has criticized a United Nations-sponsored conference dedicated to improving maternal health for its abortion advocacy.
The coalition includes Concerned Women of America, the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, and the American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
In a letter released Saturday, the coalition expresses "profound disappointment and dismay" that the Women Deliver Conference failed to meet its objective of reducing maternal mortality and morbidity. The letter also condemns abortion advocates for distracting the conference from its goals.
"Regrettably, the conference agenda was so preoccupied with promoting the ideology and practice of abortion that the genuine healthcare needs of women and children were virtually ignored in the plenary sessions and overwhelmed in the panel discussions," the letter states.
The women’s advocacy groups pointed to the use of unreliable data to justify legalizing abortion and the inclusion of organizations that have a financial interest in promoting abortion. The Women Deliver organizing committee includes the International Planned Parenthood Foundation and Marie Stopes International.
The coalition's letter accuses the organizing committee of manufacturing a false consensus by ensuring "only the views which reinforced its pre-conceived ideas were represented during the conference."
The coalition concluded their letter by calling on the conference to focus on basic health care, skilled attendants, and emergency obstetrics to promote healthier pregnancies and safer births instead of abortion promotion.