By Magaly Llaguno

In an article titled "Reproductive Health: A euphemism Used to Promote Abortion",1 Vida Humana Internacional (VHI - Human Life International's Hispanic Division, www.vidahumana.org), denounced this clever strategy being used to try to legalize abortion in Latin America. A number of countries in the Eastern hemisphere have already approved "reproductive health" legislation which includes abortion rights. 2 Recently the Bolivian congress fell into the same trap, when a "reproductive health" bill was secretely approved. Although it does not directly mention abortion, the legalization of abortion is now being promoted by the anti-life movement worldwide, as "a reproductive health need" and it is obvious that legislation would pave the way for abortion legalization in Bolivia.

The president of Bolivia vetoed the bill and sent it back to the congress for public and open discussion. However, pro-lifers in that country believe, that the cards are already stacked in favor of its approval. Aided by UNFPA (United Nations' Fund for Population Activities, a close ally), the Inter-American Parliamentary Group on Population and Development (IAPG), which is International Planned Parenthood Federation's (IPPF'S) "legislative arm", established its branch in Bolivia November 19, 2003, just before the final vote on the "reproductive health" bill took place. There are now 14 Senators and 34 representatives, who confirmed in writing their membership in this anti-life organization last November in the Senate Hall. 3 A Bolivian legislator is a member of the IAPG board of directors, along with legislators from Uruguay, Brazil and Panama. 4 Another Bolivian legislator, Dr. Javier Torres Goitia, a founding president of IPPF's other political outreach, the Medical Parlamentarians, was appointed to IAGP's Advisory Committee. He represented the Minister of Health of Bolivia, at the International Conference of Parlamentarians on the Implementation of the ICPD Program of Action, celebrated in Ottawa, Canada in 2003. That conference was attended by over 100 parliamentarians, representing 70 countries. 5 IAPG parliamentarians from Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela, met with Bolivian parliamentarians to discuss legislation in that country, before the reproductive health bill was approved. 6

According to its website at http://iapg.org, the "IAPG works with individual members of parliament, all-party national parliamentary groups and decision makers from different countries in the Americas." At the regional level, they work in partnership with three parliamentary regional bodies: the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO), the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN), and the Andean Parliament (PARLANDINO). At the United Nations, the IAPG monitors the United Nations international conferences and preparatory committees to promote the participation of parliamentarians and to ensure that their role is included in the language of the UN outcome documents." They also "seek to foster the links between parliamentarians, intergovernmental agencies, and local NGOs working on sexual and reproductive health and rights issues and women's empowerment." The " IAPG is composed of legislators from all the countries of the Americas in which there is a legislative body" , and their main objective is to re-inforce the role that parliamentarians have in getting the 1994 Cairo U.N. Conference agreements adopted by all the governments in the region. 7 In fact, that was the main reason given for the approval of the above mentioned legislation in Bolivia. The people of that country were not consulted or even informed about it before it was approved.

In December of 2000, Alvaro Alonso, the Minister of Labor and Social Security of Uruguay, accompanied by Hernan Sanhueza (who until recently was IPPF WHR's Regional Director and IAPG's Executive Coordinator), attended the launching in Paris of the Inter-European Parlamentary Forum on Population and Development. 8 In the year 2002, abortion on demand during the first three months was legalized in Uruguay's House of Representatives. June 12 of 2003, before the aforementioned proposed legislation was voted on by the Senate, IAPG organized "an informative session" on emergency contraception (EC) in the Uruguayan congress, in order "to make legislators and participating agencies aware of the importance of emergency contraception for women's reproductive and sexual health", and to "generate a favorable attitude among legislators, in order to carry out new parliamentary activities where it concerns these issues." 9 Fortunately, because of the work of the pro-life movement in that country (which is mainly composed of the two VHI/HLI affiliates), the Uruguayan Senate rejected the bill.

One of IAPG's objectives is "to have emergency contraception (EC) officially included" in the official government programs. 10 IAPG has been very successful in getting this objective achieved in a number of Latin American countries. Big battles against the distribution and use of EC are taking place in Chile, Colombia and Mexico. On January 21, 2004, the Mexican Secretary of Health introduced EC in the government family planning programs, and the National Pro-Life Committee is suing the Mexican government. 11

Argentinian, Mexican and Peruvian IAPG parliamentarians traveled to Colombia to discuss with Profamilia, the IPPF affiliate, "sexual health programs for youth" and specifically EC. They also met with Colombian government officials. Colombia approved a "National Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy" in 2003, of which EC is an essential part.12

In view of all this information recently uncovered by Vida Humana Internacional, Magaly Llaguno, its executive director, commented : "Since at least 1995, IPPF's Inter-American Parliamentary Group parliamentarians have been boldly lobbying the governments of many countries. 13 If that's not ‘foreign intervention', what is?"