TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
[UPDATED] Critics lambast Indonesia over signing of US-led anti-abortion consensus
The coalition deemed the signing of the consensus unconstitutional and harmful to the sexual and reproductive health of Indonesian women because it might lead to more unsafe abortion practices that would lead to more maternal deaths.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
![[UPDATED] Critics lambast Indonesia over signing of US-led anti-abortion consensus](https://img.jakpost.net/c/2020/10/29/2020_10_29_106564_1603949168._large.jpg)
Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wave during their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Bogor, Indonesia, Oct. 29. On Oct. 22 Indonesia signed the Geneva Consensus Declaration on Promoting Women's Health and Strengthening the Family during a virtual ceremony cohosted by Pompeo and US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar. ( Indonesian Presidential Palace/Rusman)
A
coalition of Indonesian women rights groups have lambasted the government for having signed an anti-abortion consensus rolled out by the United States, saying the government cosponsored it without proper public consultation.
The coalition deemed the signing of the consensus unconstitutional and harmful to the sexual and reproductive health of Indonesian women because it might lead to more unsafe abortion practices that would lead to more maternal deaths.
Indonesia is among 32 countries that have signed the Geneva Consensus Declaration on Promoting Women's Health and Strengthening the Family during a virtual ceremony cohosted by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar on Oct. 22. Indonesia is a cosponsor of the declaration alongside Brazil, Egypt, Hungary, Uganda and the US.
Indonesia's decision to support the consensus comes amid the country's long-standing debate between conservative groups that campaign for "family resilience" and women's rights groups that campaign for gender equality. It was also signed days before Pompeo visited Indonesia.
A coalition of 31 organizations and 25 individuals has issued a statement urging that the Foreign Ministry revoke Indonesia's signing, saying that the declaration had only been counterproductive to Indonesia's decades of efforts in improving women's access to health care, by clearly excluding women's sexual and reproductive health services and rights.
