PrepCom III ends with no consensus on reproductive health and rights

The third and final session of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom III) for the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) came to a close on April 22 without agreement on the language of the draft Program of Action on Population and Development. Although PrepCom III was intended as a forum for reaching world consensus on the document, an intense campaign led by the Vatican has left key segments in dispute. The Vatican effort centered on attacking terms that it believed included the possibility of abortion. As a result, "reproductive health," "sexual health," "sexual and reproductive rights," "safe motherhood," "fertility regulation," and "family planning" now appear in brackets indicating that they are disputed terms. The Vatican and its allies also proposed replacing the term "individuals and couples" with "men and women" because the former could be interpreted to allow adolescents the right to reproductive and sexual health and to information about these issues. Finally, the Vatican opposed references to "condoms" in a segment addressing HIV transmission, contending that abstinence is the only effective method of preventing sexual transmission of the virus. The resulting lack of consensus on the document may force ICPD participants to focus more on abortion specifically than on the broader issues of population and development emphasized by the draft Program. Regarded as an enlightened document that departs from its predecessors, the draft focuses on the centrality of women to the issues of population and development. In addition to moving beyond traditional notions of family planning, the draft recommends the initiation of programs to promote gender equity in health, economic opportunity education, and property rights. CRLP's International Program is currently preparing a fact sheet on the politics of choice in preparation for the ICPD.