An abortion rights organisation is planning to demonstrate on Wednesday, along with hundreds of anti-war coalition supporters, against the visit to South Africa by United States President George Bush.
Accusing Bush of being ”guilty of genocide” and of ”waging a war on women’s bodies”, the Reproductive Rights Alliance said it was opposed to Bush’s visit, not only to South Africa but to the continent as well.
”We believe that the US president and his foreign policies have no interest in protecting the lives, health, and welfare of women, children, and communities in Africa,” the alliance said.
It said that aside from the warfare in which the Bush administration was involved, Bush was himself also involved in a ”silent war on women’s bodies” in the form of the controversial Mexico City policy.
The policy, suspended by former US president Bill Clinton but reinstated by Bush in 2001, cuts off US international aid money to any family planning organisation engaged, directly or indirectly, in abortion activities.
According to the alliance, the policy has led to 1,5 million unwanted births, 15 000 maternal death, 92 000 infant deaths and 2,2 million unsafe abortions.
Bush has, however, taken a step back from the policy. He conceded in January this year that certain organisations performing abortions in poor countries could under some circumstances benefit from his proposed $15-billion Aids package for Africa.
Although the alliance was not available for comment on the matter, another organisation, the Planned Parenting Association of SA (Ppasa) said on Tuesday that Bush’s partial step back from the policy was simply not enough.
”The fact that policy has not been scrapped completely means it will still marginalise organisations that are pro-choice even if those organisations clarify that the funding from the US would only be used for HIV/Aids programmes.
”We want a total scrapping of the policy because given the importance of according people rights to services it should not be a condition,” said Ppasa’s chief executive Sipho Dayel. – Sapa