Commission on the Status of Women Deletes Abortion-Inclusive Language in Agreed Conclusions
By Samantha Singson
MichNews.com
Mar 19, 2006

As the 50th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) met for its closing ceremony last Friday, delegates were uncertain whether a set of Agreed Conclusions would be adopted. Negotiations went down to the wire as delegates struggled to come to consensus on the contentious health section of the draft text.

The original draft of the Agreed Conclusions' section on women's health focused almost solely on "sexual and reproductive health services and rights." As the Friday Fax has reported in the past, pro-abortion advocates have tried to establish a so-called international human right to abortion on demand using this terminology.

The European Union, joined by Turkey, Canada, New Zealand and Norway, fought to keep the focus on sexual and reproductive health by referencing the reported 500,000 maternal deaths every year. The rest