Secretary of State Hillary Clinton waded into an explosive political debate in Canada Tuesday, with remarks on abortion certain to have embarrassed her hosts at the end of a two-day Group of Eight meeting.
After a disclaimer that she would not speak for Canada, Clinton proceeded to lay out a position in opposition to that taken by conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government, linking maternal health promotion in poor countries to "access to legal, safe abortion."
Earlier this year, Harper announced that Canada would place the promotion of maternal and child health in the developing world at the center of its leadership of the G8.
The country holding the rotating presidency of the group of the world's leading industrialized nations customarily chooses a priority theme, which forms the basis of the agenda for the annual G8 summit. Canada hosts this year's event in Ontario's Muskoka district in late June.
Harper's announcement focused on needs such as clean water, inoculations, nutrition and the training of health care and maternity staff, but it quickly sparked a debate over whether the policy would, or should, include abortion and contraception.
The advocacy group Action Canada for Population and Development launched a campaign pressing for the G8 initiative to include "a commitment to sexual and reproductive health care and services and family planning."
On March 16, Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon declared that the maternal and child health initiative "does not deal in any way, shape or form with family planning. Indeed, the purpose of this is to be able to save lives."
His comments set off a storm of controversy, and Harper two days later conceded that the policy would not exclude contraception. But he said his Conservative Party government did not wish to open a debate on abortion.
The official opposition Liberal Party then introduced a parliamentary motion stating that Canada's G8 initiative "must include the full range of family planning, sexual and reproductive health options." After a day-long debate, the motion was defeated 144-138, after three Liberals broke party ranks to vote with the government.
On Tuesday, at a press conference in Quebec after a meeting of G8 foreign ministers, Clinton was asked in the light of the "debate in Canada," whether she thought contraception and abortion should be included in the G8 maternal health care focus.
"I'm not going to speak for what Canada decides, but I will say that I've worked in this area for many years," she replied. "And if we're talking about maternal health, you cannot have maternal health without reproductive health. And reproductive health includes contraception and family planning and access to legal, safe abortion."
The Toronto Star described the comment as a "grenade in the lap of her shell-shocked Canadian hosts."
Even the Liberal Party in its efforts to force the government's hand did not go as far as Clinton in referring directly to abortion, relying instead on veiled references.
In its defeated parliamentary motion, the Liberal Party did not use the word "abortion," but instead urged Ottawa not to emulate the Mexico City policy. Under the Reagan-era policy, known by critics as the "global gag rule," agencies receiving U.S. funding were required to certify that they were not carrying out or promoting abortion. The policy was rescinded by President Clinton in 1993, reinstated by President Bush immediately on taking office, and again rescinded by President Obama in the early days of his presidency.
(The motion said, "the Canadian government should refrain from advancing the failed right-wing ideologies previously imposed by the George W. Bush administration in the United States which made humanitarian assistance conditional upon a 'global gag rule' that required all non-governmental organizations receiving federal funding to refrain from promoting medically-sound family planning.")
In her remarks Tuesday, Clinton also said she did not believe governments should be involved in citizens' family planning decisions. She cited China's "one child" policy as well as the promotion by Romanian authorities during the communist era of families of at least five children.
"It is perfectly legitimate for people to hold their own personal views based on conscience, religion or any other basis," she said. "But I've always believed that the government should not intervene in decisions of such intimacy."
'Real health care'
Harper's critics seized on Clinton's comments about "access to legal, safe abortion," saying they proved the prime minister was driven by ideology and was out of touch with G8 allies.
Attempts late Tuesday to get a response to Clinton's comments from a leading Canadian pro-life organization, Campaign Life Coalition (CLC), were unsuccessful.
Last week, CLC national president Jim Hughes said Canadian opposition lawmakers seemed to be "obsessed with the view that the only help we can provide women for their babies is to prevent or eliminate them."
"Canadians want real health care for women in the developing world and oppose the use of health care terminology to force abortion and sterilization on those women," added CLC national organizer Mary Ellen Douglas.
"Our resources can make a difference to mothers who are desperate for care for themselves and their babies in countries where even the basic necessities are an unknown luxury," she said.
The maternal health initiative will be discussed in greater depth when G8 ministers responsible for international development meet in Halifax, Nova Scotia in April.
Contact: Patrick Goodenough
Source: CNSNews.com
Publish Date: March 31, 2010
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