Volume 7, Number 5

January 23, 2004

Bush Administration Warns UNESCO to Avoid Pro-Abortion Advocacy

By Douglas A. Sylva, Ph.D.

     (NEW YORK - C-FAM) As the United States rejoins the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a Member State, the Bush administration appears eager to ensure that UNESCO does not advocate for abortion rights in its publications. In a letter sent from US Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy G. Thompson to UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura on January 2, Thompson voices concern over two particular UNESCO documents, "Unwanted Pregnancy and Unsafe Abortion" and "Review of International Standards for Rights of the Child and Adolescent Rights."

     Regarding "Unwanted Pregnancy and Unsafe Abortion," Thompson writes that "we find the report has a preference for abortion and promotes adolescent abortion without parental and family involvement." Thompson also charges that the document "reflects pro-abortion advocacy rather than science and evidence-based strategies for improving reproductive health."

     Thompson asserts, "to our disappointment, the document ignores proven methods for preventing pregnancies, especially those that involve promoting responsible behavior and healthy choices. To improve the health of the populations we serve, healthy choices and behaviors must be presented, especially the value of abstinence and delaying sexual initiation for adolescents, the essential role and responsibility of parents, and the critical involvement of families in young people's lives."

     The UNESCO document's recommendations matter-of-factly state that "Governments should make abortion legal, safe, and affordable." In response, Thompson writes that "I urge you to reassess the document's list of recommendations...The document's recommendation on abortion is beyond UNESCO's mission of leadership and expertise in the development of programs to promote and support education, science and culture to the global community."

     Thompson calls the other UNESCO document in question "fundamentally flawed" since it makes "little or no mention of the crucial roles and responsibilities of parents and the family. Parents and families are critical to a child's well-being and success."

     The existence of these UNESCO documents was first reported in the October 31 Friday Fax, which prompted a detailed response from the spokesperson for the Director-General. The spokesperson "categorically" denied "that UNESCO has been taking a position regarding the legalization of abortion." She also asserted that the documents "should be seen in the framework of a long-standing cooperation between UNFPA [the UN Population Fund] and our UNESCO Office in Bangkok," and that there was "insufficient editorial control" in Bangkok.

     In conclusion, she said that "Mr. Matsuura has decided to stop this kind of publication." The spokesperson could not be reached for comment on the content of Secretary Thompson's letter.

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