I have come across the following plea of horror to decriminalize baby murder in guise of women rights and empowerment by notable women groups. Be reminded that the same people that you can find here are the ones who are pushing the RH BILL in our throats.
Full text can be found here: http://www.wgnrr.org/news/september-28th-campaign-solidarity-letter-defenders-reproductive-rights-latin-american-caribbea
September 28th Campaign: Solidarity Letter with Defenders of Reproductive Rights in Latin American & the Caribbean
On September 28, 2010 the following letter was presented to the embassies and consulates of Brazil, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ecuador, Chile, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru in citiies around the world, including Manila, Delhi, Mexico City, the Hague, Copenhagen, London, Toronto, Vancouver, New York, and San Francisco to demonstrate solidarity with the September 28th Campaign to decriminalise aborition in Latin America and the Caribbean. The word document of this letter signed by individuals and organisations supporting demands for reproductive dignity and justice worldwide can be downloaded here.
Open Letter To the Heads of State in Latin America and the Caribbean, and Affiliated Ambassadors/Consulate Generals:
In particular, we are concerned about the situation facing the defenders of reproductive rights in countries where abortion is illegal and/or systematically penalised including in Brazil, Chile, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru. We are alarmed by the recent blocking of a hotline in Ecuador offering support to women on reproductive and sexual health issues, and call on the Peruvian government to not only fulfil recommendations of the United Nations Human Rights Committee related to access to abortion, but also to take specific action on the case of KL.
We hope and trust your government will work proactively with civil society members to uphold binding commitments made at the United Nations under the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Beijing Platform for Action, the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention Against Torture and Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In addition, we ask that you adhere to the principles contained in the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders by recognising and protecting sexual and reproductive rights defenders, ensuring they are equally able to exercise the right to defend human rights and all the other rights.
To that end, we, the undersigned organisations and individuals from around the world are committed in supporting this year’s demands of the September 28th Campaign to ensure respect for sexual and reproductive rights, and call on your government to:
- Repeal all laws criminalising, penalising and/or restricting women’s access to abortion services. Ensure women who do seek or offer these services are not subjected to judicial persecution, including imprisonment, or to harassment and degrading treatment by state authorities, institutions and non-state actors;
- Repeal all laws and policies that pose specific risks to sexual and reproductive rights defenders, and those from marginalised populations who do not want to be coerced into sterilisation or abstinence programmes;
- Take effective action to sanction state officials and non-state actors who harass sexual and reproductive rights defendersor curtail their legitimate activities for the defence of human rights and fundamental freedoms; and ensure allocation of adequate resources for the full protection and promotion of the rights of women human rights defenders, and in particular those who defend sexual and reproductive rights;
- Implement policies that guarantee low cost, universal, quality access to contraceptives and abortion services—including emergency contraceptive procedures—and ensure young people have equal access to these services, free from all forms of stigmatisation;
- Ensure that religious institutions and groups do not influence the state's judicial, policy and programming efforts in relation to reproductive health and rights. The reproductive rights and dignity of all must be guaranteed, not subject to constraints imposed by religious authorities.
We, the undersigned, await news of positive judicial and policy responses to the efforts of the communities mobilising to end the criminalisation of abortion, and for the fulfilment of reproductive dignity. We will be monitoring the steps your administration is taking on these matters. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the WGNRR campaigns officer, Tanya Roberts-Davis, by email <tanya@wgnrr.org> or phone + 63 (2) 913 6708. We look forward to hearing your response to these concerns.
Sincerely:
On behalf of the following organisations
Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada /
Coalition pour le Droit a l'Avortement au Canada, Vancouver, Canada
Adele Reproductive Health Foundation, Douala, Cameroon
Alliance of Solidarity For the Family, Victoria, Seychelles
Asian Community Health Action Network, Chennai, India
Association for Women's Rights in Development, Toronto, ON, Canada/México DF, México
Catholics for Choice, Washington, DC, USA
Center for Reproductive Rights, New York, NY USA
Center for Women's Global Leadership, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
Center for Women's Resources , Quezon City, Philippines
Centre for Healthworks, Development and Research (CHEDRES), Calabar, Nigeria
Civil Liberties & Public Policy Program, Hampshire College, Amherst, MA, USA
Coalition of African Lesbians, Boksburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Debout Femmes Congolaises, Boma, D.R. Of the Congo
Diverse Women for Diversity, Delhi, India
Femmes Conscientes – FECO, Bujumbura, Burundi
Fondation Orphelinat Au Congo, Kinshasa, D. R. of the Congo
Gabriela National Alliance of Women's Organizations in the Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines
Gabriela-Negros Chapter , Negros, Philippines
Generation Foundation, Imo State, NigeriaGreen Health Foundation Zambia , Lusaka, Zambia
Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS, New York, NY, USA/Accra, Ghana
INFORM Human rights Documentation Centre, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Initiative for Health Equity in Society, Delhi, India
International Code Documentation Centre, Penang, Malaysia
International Peoples Health Council ( South Asia ), Delhi, India
International Planned Parenthood Federation - Western Hemisphere Region, New York City, NY, USA
Isis International, Quezon City, Philippines
Isis-Women's International Cross Cultural Exchange (Isis-WICCE), Kampala - Uganda.
JAGRUTI, Dharwad, Karnataka, India
Jumma Peoples Network International, Bristol, UK/ Rangamati, Bangladesh
Kvindernes U-landsudvalg / K.U.L.U.- Women and Development , Copenhagen, Denmark
Le Monde Selon Les Femmes, Brussels, Belgium
MADRE, New York, NY, USA
Mpigi Rural Women's Network Afaayo, Gombe District Referral Hospital, Butambala District, Uganda
National Abortion Federation of Canada, Victoria, B.C., Canada
Navdanya Dehradun Uttarakhan India, Delhi, India
NGO Provincial Women, Bryansk, Russia
NGO Viola, Bryansk, Russia
People for Peace and Defense of Rights (PPDR)-Uganda, Kampala, Uganda
PACOPA, Klemie, D. R. of the Congo
Public Health Association of Australia, Canberra, Australia
Red de Salud de las Mujeres Latinoamericanas y del Caribe, Santiago, Chile
Rede Nacional Feminista de Saúde Direitos Sexuais e Direitos Reprodutivos - Brazil, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
Research Foundation for Science Technology and Ecology , Delhi, India
Shirkat Gah-Women’s Resource Centre, Lahore, Pakistan
SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, Atlanta, GA, USA
SOS SEXISME, Meudon Bellevue, France
Space Allies, Ichikawa, Japan
Taller Salud, Inc., Loiza, Puerto Rico
Triangle Project, Western Cape, South Africa
Urgent Action Fund for Women's Human Rights, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Vanishing Rites, Bristol, UK
Vikalpani National Women’s Federation, Masbate, Sri Lanka
Voice of Independent Women Organization, Baghdad, Iraq
Venture Strategies for Health and Development , Berkeley, CA, USA
WOMANKIND Worldwide, London, UK
Women And Health(WAH!) India, Delhi, India
Women Development Society (WODES), Kathmandu, Nepal
Women Employees Welfare Association (WEWA), Lahore, Pakistan
Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights, Quezon City, Philippines/Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Women Promotion Centre, Kigoma, Tanzania
Women On Waves, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Young Woman's Christian Association of Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea
Youth Alliance on HIV and AIDS, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Youth Power Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal
And the following Individuals:
Dr. Adrienne Freeman, Obstetrician and gynaecologist, Australia
Dr. Anne-Marie Rey, Avortement-Information, Switzerland
Dr. Ann Ferrara, M.D., The Netherlands
Agathe Gramet-Kedzior, Concerned Community Member, Canada
Cheryl Davies, Registered Nurse, Vancouver, Canada
Dr. D.A.A. Verkuyl, Obstetrician & Gynaecologist, The Netherlands
Dr. Fabian Gorodzinsky, F.R.C.P, Paediatrician, Canada
Felix Ngwu, Centre for Healthworks, Development & Research, Nigeria
Fiona Fandim, Youth Alliance on HIV and AIDS, Papua New Guinea
Dr. Frits Driessen, Gynaecologist, The Netherlands
Fumi Suzuki, Space Allies, Japan
Dr. Gwewasang Martin, Adele Reproductive Health Foundation, Cameroon
Ina Hume, Vanishing Rites/ Jumma Peoples Network Int’l, UK
Joséphine Ntakiyica, President, Femmes Conscientes, Burundi
Jovita M. Montes, Health and Services Director, Gabriela National Alliance of Women's Organizations, Philippines
Joyce Wabi Feka, Peer Educator, YWCA of PNG, Papua New Guinea
Joyce Arthur , Coordinator, Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, Canada
Dr. K-lee Starland, International Human Rights Advisor, USA
Kalulu Maisha, Head of Projects, PACOPA, D. R. of the Congo
Kulihoshi Musikami, People for Peace and Defense of Rights-Uganda, Uganda
Lamia Talebani, Lecturer, University of Baghdad, Iraq
Dr. Ludmila Zhirina, NGO Provincial Women, Russia
Makene Fereza Balebanga, Femmes Conscientes, Burundi
Dr. M. Dayras, President, SOS SEXISME, France
Mairi MacRae Policy and Advocacy Manager, WOMANKIND Worldwide UK
Malcolm Potts, Professor, University of California-Berkeley, USA
Martha Campbell, Lecturer, Global Health, School of Public Health University of California, Berkeley, USA
Menu Nilukshika De Silva, Vikalpani National Women’s Federation, Sri Lanka
Michael Moore, CEO, Public Health Association of Australia, Australia
Dr. Mira Shiva, Initiative for Health Equity in Society, India
Musonda Chansa, Green Health Foundation Zambia, Zambia
Nisala Kisema Sandra, Debout Femmes Congolaises, D. R. of the Congo
Pascale Maquestiau, Le Monde Selon les Femmes, Belgium
Pauline Kangombe, Green Health Foundation Zambia, Zambia
Dr. Prem Chandran John, Asian Community Health Action Network, India
Reineira Arguello, Programme Manager for Latin America, WOMANKIND Worldwide, UK
Rizwana Yasmin, S. G., Women Employees Welfare Association, Pakistan
Ruth Mirembe Sessanga, E.D., Mpigi Rural Women's Network Afaayo, Uganda
Ruth Ojiambo Ochieng, E.D., ISIS-WICCE, Uganda
Sarah Diehl, Writer & Director, Abortion Democracy, Germany
Dr. Suzanne Belton, Sr. Lecturer, Menzies School of Health Research, Australia
Sybil Nmezi, Generation Foundation, Nigeria
Dr. Sylvia Estrada Claudio, Professor, Dept. of Women and Development Studies, University of the Philippines, Philippines
Dr. Vandana Shiva, Research Foundation for Science, Technology & Ecology, India
