Personal stories of coerced sterilization and on the influence of religious tradition on sexual and reproductive health captured the audience at the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
All proposals to advance women, to empower women economically, socially, legally, will be highly ineffectual unless each and every woman is able to choose whether and when to have children.
The Vatican refused to support a recent U.N. declaration on sexual orientation and gender identity, calling it ill-defined and overly broad.
Catholic bishops vow to forcefully confront Obama on abortion; UNFPA calls for cultural sensitivity to achieve gender equality and establish reproductive rights; Uruguayan Senate votes to decriminalize abortion; Bush administration puts successful California family planning program at risk.
Obama seeks middle ground on abortion; McCain slammed for ‘sarcastic air quotes’; Abortion restrictions on the ballot in Colorado, South Dakota and California; Broad support for reproductive health bill in Phillipines; UN says more focus on women needed in fight against HIV; ‘HIV positive’ Muppet educates kids on the disease in South Africa.
Women fight to put violence on global agenda; San Francisco Chronicle warns proposition 4 threatens choice; Mitt Romney’s sex ed hypocrisy; British org publishes sex ed booklet for six-year-old students; Progress on fight against TB/HIV; Tyra Banks takes on teen pregnancy.
SRH groups meeting with the new UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health raised many key issues, including unsafe abortion; homophobia by conservative and religious groups; and access of indigenous groups and young people to adequate health services.
A report card on progress made on health at the G8 Summit gave poor marks to the world’s most powerful leaders and maternal health may be faring the worst of all.
This Thursday the UN will discuss one of the world’s most common, and most ignored, forms of terrorism: mass rape.
Blogging from an UNGASS side event about PEPFAR.
