UN Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs,
with support from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
|
| UN Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, with support from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) |
|
"ICPD 94"
April 1994
Number 14
Newsletter of the International Conference on Population and
Development
Cairo, Egypt, 5-13 September 1994
POPULATION ETHICS PRINCIPLES PROPOSED
"Reproductive rights and reproductive health are part of a broader
human good that every society should aim to achieve for its
members." So declared participants in a Round Table on Ethics,
Population and Reproductive Health, held 8-10 March in New York.
Thirty-six ethicists, theologians, women's rights activists,
population policy experts, family planning programme directors and
human rights advocates took part. The Development Law and Policy
Program of Columbia University's Center for Population and Family
Health convened the round table, in collaboration with the United
Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Dr. Nafis Sadik, Secretary-General
of ICPD and Executive Director of UNFPA opened the meeting.
The discussions, which revolved around five propositions, were
summarized in a Declaration of Ethical Principles. Among the main
points:
+ Promoting reproductive health and improving conditions for its
attainment are an ethical obligation. People should "have the
ability to reproduce, to regulate their fertility, and to practice
and enjoy sexual relationships"; they should be "the subjects
rather than the objects" of reproductive health programmes.
+ Benefits and responsibilities related to reproductive
decisions must be allocated equitably. No group should be denied
services; "meeting the needs of the most vulnerable groups in
society" deserves the highest priority.
+ Persons must be treated with respect, and individuals'
autonomy respected. "Women should not be treated as a means for
reaching a goal of optimal population." Individuals should "be
given a range of alternatives and the right to refuse unwanted
family planning methods or medical procedures."
+ Reproductive health policies should produce more desirable
consequences than undesirable ones. This is not the case, for
example, with criminalization of abortion, which results in
preventable maternal mortality and morbidity and infertility.
+ Population policies are integral parts of social, economic and
cultural development, aimed at to enhancing people's dignity and
quality of life. "Emphasizing population goals in isolation from
broader development goals tends to mask the importance of
development as the most certain way of eliminating poverty. ...
Coercive means to achieve population objectives must be rejected."
To address issues of population and reproductive health
ethically, participants concluded, "Governments must devise
strategies that are broadly integrated with social and economic
development, improved education and political and legal reform.
Like other important social goods, reproductive health can only
flourish in a climate of respect for human dignity and protection
of fundamental human rights.
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For printed or electronic copies of the "ICPD 94" newsletter, in
English, French or Spanish, or further information, please contact:
ICPD Secretariat 220 E. 42nd Street, 22nd floor
New York, N.Y. 10017, USA
Tel: (212) 297-5244/5245
Media contact: (212) 297-5023/5030 or 5279
Fax: (212) 297-5250
E-mail: ryanw@unfpa.org or icpd@igc.apc.org
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