July 18, 1994

His Excellency
Raul Rabe
Office of the Ambassador
Embassy of Republic of the Philippines
1600 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20036

Excellency:

I ask your kindness in transmitting the enclosed letter to President Ramos by means of the diplomatic pouch. I enclose a copy of this letter for your information.

Please be assured of my gratitude for your assistance.

Enclosures

July 18, 1994

His Excellency
Fidel Ramos
President of the Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace
Manila, Philippines

Excellency:

It has come to our attention that some officials of the United States Government are
aggressively pushing worldwide sanction of abortion on demand as part of a new U.N.
population control "programme of action."

We, the undersigned Members of the United States Congress, speaking on behalf of tens
of millions of pro-life Americans, respectfully encourage you to resist any and all pressure to
abandon the lives of unborn children in your nation.

We urge your delegation to the upcoming Cairo population control conference to reject
any proposal or language in the final document designed to weaken or nullify the anti-abortion
laws in your country and the approximately 100 nations around the world that currently protect
their children from abortion on demand.

We strongly believe that children -- born and unborn -- are precious and that it is the
high moral duty of government to protect vulnerable children from harm. We recall and
emphatically endorse the magnificent words enshrined in the U.N. Declaration of the Rights of
the Child (1959), and reiterated recently in the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child that:

Sadly, as a direct result of a U.S. Supreme Court decision -- and not an action by
Congress or the President -- the unborn in our country enjoy virtually no protection and the
number of children killed by abortion has skyrocketed to over 1.5 million a year.

There is no doubt whatsoever, that when a nation adopts a pro-abortion policy, the actual
number of abortions increases dramatically. Even an Alan Guttmacher Institute study (a
research affiliate of Planned Parenthood) released last month admits this: "In most countries,
it is common after abortion is legalized for abortion rates to rise sharply for several years, then
stabilize, just as we have seen in the United States."

July 18, 1994
Page two

Unrestricted abortion has had a devastating impact on our country. There has been a
decline in respect for unborn children, women and family life in general. In many ways, human
life has become cheap. It is no longer respected as a gift with innate value.

Nevertheless, millions of Americans are undeterred in the quest to reestablish the most
basic human right of all -- the right to life. Public opinion polls now show that 80% of
Americans are against abortion as a method of birth control. As the tide is turning in favor of
life here in the States, it would be an enormous tragedy -- and a gross injustice -- if countries
that have had the decency and compassion to protect their unborn babies all of these years were
pressured, even coerced into reversing their pro-life policy.

As you know, at the 1984 U.N. population conference in Mexico City, the international
community showed great sensitivity and concern when the delegates agreed to language that said,
"abortion ... in no case should be promoted as a method of family planning."

At the Cairo conference, we urge you to exclude abortion from the definitions of the
many ambiguous terms included in the proposed document, and to reject entirely the promotion
of "safe abortion." How can a government be expected to promote the safety of a procedure
which violates its laws or constitution? Abortion is inherently inconsistent with "reproductive
health," "reproductive rights," "family planning," "fertility regulation," and "safe motherhood."
Such a principled stand is entirely consistent with compassionate care for women who have
undergone abortions and who have suffered physical or psychological wounds as a result. We
hope that you will find the enclosed information, which addresses the myth of "safe abortion,"
of value.

We are pleased to note that many delegates to the ICPD Prep-Com wisely resisted
pressure to agree that the availability of "safe" abortion should be part of the ICPD plan of
action. These delegates understood very well that couching the debate in terms of "reproductive
rights," "sexual and reproductive health care," "safe abortions," "safe motherhood,"
"reproductive choice," etc. does not change the purpose of such a statement in the plan of
action: that is, the sanction of the international community for abortion as a method of family
planning and population control -- a position which is diametrically opposed to the consensus of
the international community ten years ago at the Mexico City Conference.

For our part, we will continue our efforts to increase access to basic health care services
which would more successfully prevent maternal and child mortality and morbidity, including
pre-natal and post-natal care, coverage for antibiotics, vaccinations and immunizations, oral
rehydration, and other successful measures.

With respect to reports of pressure concerning abortion language in the Cairo document,
we intend to intervene actively if any U.S. officials, U.S. conference delegates, or international
organizations seek to encroach on the rights and responsibilities of nations in this sensitive area.

July 18, 1994
Page three

Finally, know that we stand in solidarity with you -- and the children and mothers of
your land -- as you resist and reject every attempt to pressure or intimidate your sovereign
nation into accepting abortion on demand. Thank you.

Respectfully,

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