(ZENIT News– Center for Family and Human Rights / Geneva, 06.18.2024).- After a razor thin vote and abundant criticism from the developing world, the World Health Organization (WHO) has given special status to the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), a rabidly pro-abortion legal group based in the United States. During the debate, traditional countries opposed the effort vociferously.
The Biden administration and Western countries rammed the decision through the executive board of the WHO over multiple objections in a razor-thin secret vote. Of the thirty-four countries on the board of the health agency only 17 voted in favor of the abortion group, 13 voted against, and 4 abstained.
Egypt accused Western countries of politicizing the WHO and vowed to appeal the decision to the wider membership of the organization at the next World Health Assembly. The African group of 47 countries, the 54 countries of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation and the Russian Federation joined that promise. While the executive board of the WHO oversees the operation of the agency, the legal mandates of the agency derive from the World Health Assembly.
Western countries insisted on a vote by secret ballot, first proposed by France though normal protocol for voting in the executive board is by a show of hands.
Traditional countries objected to the secret vote arguing secrecy would undermine democracy and accountability, implying that any country planning to abstain from the vote was likely not faithfully representing its laws and values. The U.S. government insisted on secrecy.
A U.S. delegate said a secret ballot was necessary to “ensure national positions are being reflected, recognizing that there are a number of external views and pressures that we would want to guard against.”
The WHO secretariat packaged the decision to grant official status to the CRR with a non-controversial organization, Rare Diseases International. Calls to separate the two organizations and consider the merits of each organization separately was rejected by the U.S. delegate. A subsequent vote to separate was defeated.
The decision marks a key moment in a debate that has lasted for several months and has seen opposition to abortion voiced from traditional countries, U.S. Congressional members, and pro-life organizations around the world.
A decision to give the abortion law firm an official role within the WHO was postponed earlier this year in January, at the previous session of the executive board. Countries expressed concern that the global abortion group’s work conflicts with the laws and culture of their countries.
Prominent U.S. pro-life organizations alerted executive board members about the subversive activities of the Center for Reproductive Rights. The group’s mission is to establish abortion and sexual rights internationally through judicial activism, lobbying, and by taking over international human rights mechanisms. The organization has a well documented strategy to manipulate the UN human rights system and bypass established agreements of the UN General Assembly processes in order to create an international right to abortion through customary international law .
Discussions on Monday, June 3rd night came to an impasse after a contentious discussion divided countries. The stiff opposition by traditional countries proved consensus was unattainable and the only way the decision could be adopted would be by vote — never used before on the issue of granting official status to an organization.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made an appearance late Monday, June 3rd evening to allay the “fears” of delegations asking for their trust and making a compromise proposal to accept CRR on a one-year probationary basis. Tedros said the WHO has been collaborating with CRR since 2020 and that member states should not be concerned with CRR imposing anything they do not want.
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