Abortion Litmus Test for State Department Job?

Ambassador Ellen Sauerbrey came under fire by Senate Democrats who charge that she has a history of opposing abortion at the UN. Sauerbrey has been nominated by President Bush to head the $700 million State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.

At Sauerbrey's confirmation hearings on Tuesday before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, California Sen. Barbara Boxer chastised Sauerbrey, charging her with being pro-life. "I question the wisdom of putting someone in that position who I believe has shown zealotry on the issue of reproductive health including family planning," said Boxer.

The charge centers on an attempt by the Bush administration last spring to pass an amendment to a UN resolution that clarified that neither the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action or the 2000 Beijing +5 platform created a universal right to abortion. The resolution had the support of more than 2,400 NGOs from around the world. Even pro-abortion NGOs and governments said the resolution was unnecessary because they acknowledged that neither Beijing document created a right to abortion.

Most of Sauerbrey's work at the UN has been to focus attention on issues other than "reproductive health." At several UN meetings, Sauerbrey has initiated language to support women in education, political self-determination, and development. Most importantly, Sauerbrey took the lead in opposing human trafficking whereby women are kidnapped and forced into prostitution.

Even with this strong record, Sauerbrey opponents are insisting that the only issue is abortion. Writing in the Planned Parenthood publication "choice! magazine", Betsy Illingworth says that "Sauerbrey's record on reproductive health and family planning raises more than a few red flags" because she "declared that abortion is not a legitimate element of reproductive health assistance. . ." It should be pointed out that even the UN General Assembly agrees that abortion is not included in "reproductive health." As recently as two weeks ago, Kori Annan's right hand adviser told the US Congress that abortion was not included in the UN's understanding of "reproductive health."

Critics have also charged that Sauerbrey lacks the technical experience in dealing with refugees. Her supporters point out that her job at the UN has given her extensive experience in international social policy and she has experience managing bureaucracies. "I have spent most of my adult life in public service. I've built and managed many, many organizations both in and out of government," Sauerbrey said during testimony. "Most refugees are women and children and in the course of the last four years working at the UN I have worked with every issue that is pertinent to women's human rights and they are certain pertinent to refugees."

Source: C-FAM

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