Michael Noonan
Ceist:187 Mr. Noonan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if taxpayers' money is used to fund abortions in developing countries. [21106/03]
Written Answers. - Abortion Funding.
I presume that the Deputy is referring to the regulation on reproductive and sexual health and rights, which was adopted by the Council of Ministers on 20 May 2003. In March 2002, the European Commission submitted a proposal to the Council and the European Parliament for a new regulation on reproductive and sexual health and rights in developing countries. The previous regulation expired on 31 December 2002, having been in force since 1997. The purpose of both the previous regulation and its replacement is to allow the Commission to continue to support programmes in developing countries in the area of reproductive and sexual health and rights. The Commission's role in relation to development co-operation is laid down in Articles 177 to 181 of the Treaty establishing the European Community.
The previous and current regulations form an important part of the EU's development policy. In particular, the legislation addresses the specific United Nations millennium development goal relating to maternal health, which calls for the reduction of maternal mortality by three quarters over the period 1990 to 2015. Throughout the developing world, and particularly in the poorest countries, hundreds of thousands of women continue to die in childbirth because health systems cannot afford proper medical care and appropriate services.
The current regulation, like the previous 1997 to 2002 instrument, is based on the programme of action agreed by consensus at the Cairo international conference on population and development in 1994 and the Cairo + 5 follow-up conference of 1999. Ireland's position in the Council negotiations, on both the current regulation and its predecessor, was that they must be in strict conformity with the Cairo programme of action, which provides that abortion is not to be promoted as a family planning method and that regulations regarding abortion are solely for individual countries to decide. The Government is satisfied that the current regulation meets this requirement and that it represents a substantial contribution by the European Union towards implementation of the millennium development goals, to which the international community is committed.
Ireland also supports the work of the United Nations Population Fund, which is the largest internationally funded source of population assistance to developing countries, and has been making voluntary contributions to the fund since 1993. The fund helps countries improve reproductive health and family planning services on the basis of individual choice and to formulate population policies that support sustainable development and poverty eradication. UNFPA is wholly funded by voluntary contributions. All of its programmes of assistance throughout the world are based on the principles of freedom of choice and informed consent. Its guiding policy, as laid down by its governing council in 1985, stipulates that UNFPA is not to provide assistance for abortions, abortion services and abortion-related equipment and supplies as a method of family planning.
Ireland maintains very regular bilateral contact with the fund in order to be in a position to closely monitor and evaluate its performance. We also served on the board of UNFPA from 1997 to 2000, when we were able to participate directly in detailed donor discussions on the fund's programmes and policies. From all of this contact and interaction we are satisfied that the fund strictly adheres to its mandate.