Rio +20 conference rejects calls to support abortion, population control

June 21, 2012: Vatican delegates at the Rio +20 conference have spearheaded a successful effort to eliminate any mention of “reproductive rights”—a term commonly used to refer to legal abortion—from the final report of the UN conference.

With the support of delegates from Latin American nations (Chile, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic) and the Middle East (Egypt and Syria), the Vatican delegation moulded a consensus against including references to “reproductive rights” in the final document on sustainable growth. A Nicaraguan delegate said that liberal groups should cease to “shadow-box” by using the term, which “every country knows is a code at the UN for abortion.” Russia joined the Holy See in rejecting a proposal to promote population control as a method of achieving sustainable growth.

The bids to include abortion and contraception in the final document were supported by delegates from Norway, Iceland, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, the European Union, and the US.