Preface.(increase in abortion discussion at United Nations meetings dominates media)

Two recent United Nations meetings--the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, in Cairo, and the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, in Beijing--devoted an unprecedented, perhaps even disproportionate, amount of time to discussion about abortion. The topic dominated the news and media coverage of both events, dwarfing their considerable achievements in gaining consensus on other important aspects of reproductive health and the advancement of women. Why did this occur?

A partial answer, surely, can be found in the media's natural affinity for controversy. The confrontation over abortion had the singular attraction, in media terms, of pitting a powerful all-male entity--the Holy See, the only religious body with formal representation at the United Nations--against women and their right to self-determination.

It would be absurd to downplay the Vatican's influence over the governments of many countries, or its ability at these and other international conferences (those on human rights and war crimes, for example) to form alliances with other religious and conservative forces. Nevertheless, these political realities are not sufficient to explain the intense level of interest in abortion demonstrated at the Cairo and Beijing conferences. After all, abortion has been with us from time immemorial.

Another possible factor is the remarkably high level of participation at these meetings by non-governmental organizations and the presence of thousands of women at huge meetings running parallel to the official conferences. Unprecedented, as well, was the level of representation of civic groups, private individuals and, again, women in the ranks of the official delegations.

This is not to imply that participation by non-governmental organizations--or, for that matter, by women--necessarily ensured a consistently sympathetic approach to abortion or unanimity of views among the participants. ...