Reproductive rightists.(Letter to the Editor)

Kate O'Beirne's article "Agendas All Their Own" (Jan. 26) accuses international nongovernmental organizations that engage in advocacy--including ours--of covertly seeking "to impose their policies through undemocratic means." There are two key fallacies in her argument.

First, ensuring that governments respect human rights is a precondition of--not an anathema to--free and open democracies. As world history has demonstrated with chilling frequency, majority rule can be used for good or ill. The touchstone of a true democracy is when the power of the majority is limited by the protection of rights, such that a nation's citizens may live in freedom and equality.

Second, we do not "prefer" to act covertly. The dictionary defines advocacy as "defending or maintaining a cause." That's what we do: use our freedom of speech to publicly and openly advocate for the recognition and protection of women's reproductive rights. We're certainly not hiding our views. Our briefs in courts and human-rights bodies around the world are publicly filed. Hundreds of thousands of people each year, from more than 150 countries, visit our website and download over half a million documents--legal analysis, fact sheets, issue statements--that articulate our positions.

By advocating the rule of law--both constitutional law in the U.S. ...