- Title: EGYPT: UN POPULATION CONFERENCE IN CAIRO BOGGED DOWN OVER ABORTION ISSUE
- Date: 9th September 1994
- Summary: CAIRO, EGYPT (SEPTEMBER 9, 1994) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) 1. GV EXT: CONFERENCE CENTRE 0.03 2. SLV: ABE WILLIAMS, SOUTH AFRICAN DELEGATE, ARRIVING 0.10 3. GV/SV INT: DELEGATES WAITING TO ENTER FOR ABORTION DEBATE (2 SHOTS) 0.17 4. MCU: EITAN SABATELLO (ISRAELI DELEGATE) SAYING THAT CONFERENCE HAS BEEN HIJACKED BY THE ABORTION ISSUE AND THAT DEVELOPMENT SHOULD BE THE MAIN ISSUE (ENGLISH) 0.47 5. GV: CONFERENCE HALL, DELEGATES GATHERING (2 SHOTS) 1.02 6. SV: VATICAN SPOKESMAN MONSIGNOR PETER ELLIOT WITH REPORTERS 1.05 7. MCU/SV: ELLIOT SAYING FEMINISTS ARE TO BLAME (ENGLISH) (2 SHOTS) 1.41 8. CU: SIGN SAYING "UNITED NATIONS POPULATION CONFERENCE" 1.46 GV/PAN: DELEGATES GATHERED AND PREPARING FOR DEBATE 1.58 9. SV : VATICAN DELEGATE JOAQUIN NAVARRO-VALLS WALKING IN CORRIDOR SURROUNDED BY REPORTERS 2.03 10. HAS/GV/CU : NAVARRO-VALLS SAYING VATICAN HAS WON AGREEMENT THAT ABORTION WILL NOT BE USED AS BIRTH CONTROL METHOD (ENGLISH) (3 SHOTS) 2.32 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
- Embargoed: 24th September 1994 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: CAIRO, EGYPT
- City:
- Country: Egypt
- Reuters ID: LVABFFI1PGVRU9XBBMROQVDO16UX
- Story Text: A row over abortion reached a head at the United Nations (U.N.) population conference on Friday (September 9) when the Vatican was challenged to accept a compromise on the issue.
The conference, called to chart a strategy to limit growth in the world's population over the next 20 years, has become bogged down in haggling between liberals and religious conservatives over whether abortion could ever be considered safe or legal.
Most countries, frustrated by the lengthy abortion row, are eager to move on to other parts of a draft declaration setting guidelines intended to hold world population down to about 7.27 billion in the year 2015, up from 5.67 billion now.
A senior Vatican official, angered by charges that the Holy See is holding up proceedings over the abortion issue, on Friday accused liberal and feminist critics of spreading propaganda.
Vatican spokesman Monsignor Peter Elliot said feminists were "hand-in-glove" with conference organisers, and insisted it was not the Vatican's fault that abortion had featured so prominently in a conference intended to deal also with development, health and education.
Many Islamic groups have also been angered by what they see as undue emphasis on the abortion issue, and want to see Moslem concepts of family and the role of women to figure more prominently.
The Vatican said that although it rejected legal abortion it would no longer hold up a U.N. population conference over the subject.
A senior Vatican delegate said the Holy See had also dropped its objections to the phrase "family planning" because it was satisfied that a new text stipulated that family planning should not include abortion.
The decision enables the U.N. conference in Cairo to leave aside abortion, which has bogged down the meeting for five days, at least until the final stages.
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