SYDNEY, 10 March 2009: Australia Tuesday lifted a controversial ban on using overseas development aid to fund family planning programmes offering abortions, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith announced.
The issue has gained political momentum after United States President Barack Obama ended a ban on giving federal money to international groups that offer abortion counselling or referrals for the procedure abroad.
Smith made the announcement following a review of the guidelines for aid provision, saying he had decided to allow aid money to be used for pregnancy terminations as it afforded women overseas the same rights as Australians.
Australian and international NGOs will however still be able to choose what services they deliver, in line with their own philosophies and policies, he said.
But the scrapping of the ban, imposed in 1996 by the previous conservative government, challenges the personal beliefs of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, a committed Christian.
Centre-left Rudd said he had “long-standing conservative views” on the issue and did not support the change. However, he acknowledged there was a clear majority among ruling Labor Party parliamentarians in favour of overturning the ban and welcomed the “mature” debate among his colleagues.
The foreign minister has been considering the matter for more than six months amid mounting pressure from pro-choice Labor MPs.
In the end, Mr Smith, a Catholic, said he was swayed by evidence of a substantial decline in funding for child and maternal health care and family planning generally since the ban was introduced in the 1990s.
Since 1996, Australian aid funding for family planning had fallen from 6,9 million dollar to a mere 2,3 million in 2007.
And without proper family planning advice, women were still having abortions – an estimated 42 million around the globe each year, with an estimated half of those being medically unsafe.
– The danger to women of effectively having backyard abortions is … I think a compelling feature, Mr Smith said.
Oxfam executive director Andrew Hewett said the change of policy would save lives in developing countries.
– The result of the previous policy had not just been an increase in the risk of needless death because of unsafe procedures, the policies themselves had made it increasingly hard for aid and development agencies to carry out any sexual and reproductive health services, he noted.
Australia is putting an extra 15 million dollar into funding for family planning and maternal health care services over the next four years.
Labor Senator Claire Moore, chairwoman of the parliamentary group on population and development, welcomed the ministers decision but acknowledged strong views had been held on both sides of the debate.
And, she said, feedback from NGOs suggests they will start seeking funding for new programs immediately.
Kilde: The Push Journal
