For Immediate Release:	March 10, 2004
For More Information:	Kirsten Sherk, Ipas, sherkk@ipas.org, +1 (919) 960-5612
Sponsor Organization:	Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Santiago Conference Poised to Reaffirm 1994 Cairo Consensus
WASHINGTON, DC-In a repeat of its widely criticized behavior at the 2002 population conference in Bangkok, the Bush administration today stood alone in opposing a declaration of Latin American countries reaffirming the Programme of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (also known as the Cairo Consensus). "Once again, the United States stands alone, turning its back on women, public health and global consensus," said Gloria Feldt, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Health policymakers from Latin America and the Caribbean gathered today in Santiago, Chile, to reaffirm their commitment to the Cairo Consensus, a landmark international agreement to improve the health, education and economic well-being of all the world's citizens. The final text of the draft declaration is still being negotiated, but it is expected to reaffirm the rights of adolescents to receive medically accurate sexuality education, and support the family "in all its forms," not just as a unit based on a marriage between a man and a woman, two positions opposed by the administration. At a similar regional conference in Bangkok, Thailand, in December 2002, the administration used threats and intimidation in an attempt to compel other nations to join its opposition to the Cairo Consensus. The effort ultimately failed in Bangkok, and the U.S. position was defeated, 30-1. In Santiago, the vote was 40 nations against the United States' one vote. "The Bush administration has systematically put its extreme political agenda ahead of the health and rights of women worldwide," Feldt remarked. "Fortunately other nations have seen through this attempt to scale back individual rights, and so do most Americans." # # # Planned Parenthood Federation of America is the nation's largest and most trusted voluntary family planning organization. We believe that everyone has the right to choose when or whether to have a child - and that every child should be wanted and loved. Planned Parenthood affiliates operate nearly 900 health centers nationwide, providing medical services and sexuality education for millions of women, men, and teenagers each year.