Viet Nam Human Rights
Abortion Remains an Unresolved Issue: ICPD25 Meeting next Month
10/10/19
Currently, the topic of abortion as human rights leaves the world bustling. When the state of Alabama in the United States enacted a very strict ban on abortion, it shocked the world. This prompted so-called conservative movements, led by female business owners, to make a full-scale advertisement in the New York Times claiming abortion is a human right; hence the global debate between pro-life and pro-choice.
This discussion is a remnant of the debate at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994. Twenty Five years into the ICPD and the struggle between opposing views persists, causing the continued disruption in the accessibility of women to reproductive health. This is especially true in developing countries.
The purpose of this paper is to show that pro-life and pro-choice are actually following the same logical development despite failing to arrive at the same conclusion.
Current Status of ICPD and Reproductive Rights
As its name suggests, ICPD is a conference that places population issues in the context of sustainable development, which served as the basis of the current Agenda 2030. However, the population problem has been treated as a value and not a scientific issue. Following this paradigm, possible solutions are unattainable.
Efforts are being made to include abortion in the ICPD Programme of Action (PoA), particularly in paragraphs 5.5., 7.3. and 7.36, which defines Reproductive Rights. The principles behind such effort are that:
- Reproductive rights embrace certain human rights that are already recognized in national laws, international human rights documents and other consensus documents.
- These rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so.
The concept of the reproductive right is not included in the human rights defined by the UN CESCR.
Pro-choice advocates aim to expand the definition of reproductive rights in the ICPD PoA and position the right to abortion in 7.3, which refers to the number of and spacing of children. As such, the right to abortion is not an infringement to self-determination, which is central to the concept of human rights.
Pro-life advocates, on the other hand, regard abortion as infringing on the right to existence of another life, which is a gift from God.
However, it must be recognized that unplanned and unwanted pregnancies also happen. One case in point is the Yazidi girl who got pregnant as a result of sexual assault by members of ISIS. She was alienated from her community causing further victimization of the child. This is just one case and many more are happening in different parts of the world. Such abuse put women and girls in difficult position. How can this kind of problem be addressed?
The basis of human rights is respecting the dignity of human life as part of society regardless of one's race, religion, or culture. Therefore, this contradicts the concept that abortion is a human right. Obviously, no matter how extensive the discussion on this problem could go, no logical solution can be reached. Ergo, it is meaningless to engage in an argument that will always end up in a stalemate.
Possible solution
Reproductive Rights as defined in the ICPD PoA intends to prevent pregnancy in situations where self-determination is not possible – these cases must be devoid of theological debates. Serious discussions and negotiations had been made during the formulation of the ICPD PoA and it can be assumed that a reasonable conclusion was drawn because it was adopted and ratified by many countries.
The debates on abortion may be addressed through a democratic decision-making mechanism. Unless the conditions for achieving reproductive rights are there, such as the meaningful empowerment of women, access to education, improved socioeconomic status, advancement in the field of health - especially in family planning - and full dissemination of reproductive health services, women cannot be held accountable.
Abortion is not a matter that should be recognized as a right yet, but it is an issue that should be treated with the utmost care. Appropriate medical measures must be put in place for situations where the conditions for reproductive rights cannot be met, resulting in an unwanted pregnancy. Otherwise, prolife means denying the life and dignity to human beings who are victims of circumstances.
The suggestion is to separate the issue of abortion from reproductive rights. This way, it will be possible to present a more realistic, reasonable and relevant solution that could be more commonly acceptable.
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All comments [ 20 ]
The abortion-rights debate raises questions about women’s rights that remain unresolved 46 years
Why is the debate so bitter, so emotional? Part of the answer is very simple: the two sides share almost no common premises and very little common language.
Those who oppose abortion usually begin by stipulating that since the embryo is an unborn child, abortion is morally equivalent to murder.
for those who accept abortion, this initial stipulation is exactly what is problematic; from their point of view, the embryo has the capacity to become a child but it is not a child yet, and therefore belongs to a very different moral category.
Over the years, the abortion debate has become a linchpin in the political battle
Part of the reason for this is that the abortion issue taps into competing, deep-rooted views on the role of men and women in society.
Abortion bans aren’t just about controlling women’s bodies.They’re about controlling women’s sexuality. Owning women.
From limiting birth control to banning comprehensive sex ed, U.S. religious fundamentalists are working hard to outlaw sex that falls outside their theology.
“morality” — judgments about which acts are wrong and which are not — is best understood strategically, a means by which one can try to prevent others from doing things that are (often in aggregate) bad for oneself.
When the social status of their families and especially that of their offspring, depends on their “virtue,” women have an obvious stake in complying as well as in advertising their compliance. Supporting the “right” political candidates can be just one more way of doing that.
the sexual revolution and the simultaneous entry of women into the work force have prompted two conflicting reactions.
Men could be deceived into investing in another man’s offspring; women could be abandoned with multiple children and limited resources.
Abortion is a public health issue surrounded by years of controversy.
attitudes toward abortion are linked to a key issue: sexual morality.
moral condemnation of promiscuity in others has a long and deep history.
abortion and other ruptures with traditional sexual morality as a threat to their own commitment to a lifelong faithful marriage.
become less willing to commit to one woman to the degree that there exist women in the mating pool who are willing to engage in casual sex with them.
allowing women to have abortions may be viewed by women and men alike as tantamount to endorsing a promiscuous mating strategy.
Restricting abortion is an example of men’s restrictions on women’s reproductive capacity, which has taken many forms in various cultures and historical periods
The men who are pressing to make abortion illegal, some of whom would ban contraception as well, are not only, unaware of the evolutionary forces motivating them, they appear to be in many respects ignorant of the havoc they would create if they are successful in their efforts.
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