Hilary Clinton transcript, News - Marie Stopes International

Transcript of Hilary Clinton statement
Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ):
"My question: is the Obama Administration seeking in any way to weaken or overturn pro-life laws and policies in African and Latin American countries either directly or through multilateral organisations including and especially the United Nations, African Union, or the OAS or by way of funding NGOs like Planned Parenthood?

"Secondly, and so that we can have total transparency and you know as a former law maker we always have definition pages on the right legislation – definitions do matter, does the United States definition of the term reproductive health, or reproductive services, or reproductive rights include abortion?"

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton:
"…When I think about the suffering that I have seen of women around the world. I’ve been in hospitals in Brazil where half the women were enthusiastically and joyfully greeting their babies and the other half were fighting for their lives against botched abortions. I have been in African countries where 12 and 13 year old girls are bearing children. I have been in Asian countries where the denial of family planning confines women to lives of oppression and hardship. So we have a very fundamental disagreement.

"And it is my strongly held view that you are entitled to advocate and everyone who agrees with you should be free do so anywhere in the world and so are we. We happen to think that family planning is an important part of women’s health and reproductive health includes access to abortion that I believe should be safe, legal and rare.

"I’ve spent a lot of my time trying to bring down the rate of abortions and it has been my experience that good family planning and good medical care brings down the rate of abortion. Keeping women and men in ignorance and denied the access to services actually increases the rate of abortion. During my time as First Lady, I helped to create the Campaign Against Teenage Pregnancies and while were working to provide good information, access to contraception and decision making that would enable young women to protect themselves and say no, the rate of teenage pregnancy went down.

"I am sad to report that after an Administration of eight years, the rate of teenage pregnancy is going up. So we disagree. And we are now an Administration that will protect the rights of women, including their rights to reproductive health care."

Hilary Clinton transcript