June 13, 2024

Duckworth, Shaheen Introduce First Senate Resolution to Mark 30th Anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, Reaffirming Goals of Achieving Reproductive Health for Women and Girls Across the Globe

 

[Washington, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)—the only women on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee—today introduced a resolution recognizing 30 years since the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD)—organized by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)—in Cairo, Egypt, and reaffirming the importance of comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care for women and girls across the globe. This effort marks the first U.S. Senate resolution to recognize the landmark conference and calls on the administration to fully implement the National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality. A companion bill is being led in the House of Representatives by Congresswomen Susie Lee (D-NV), Lois Frankel (D-FL) and Grace Meng (D-NY).

“I’m proud to be a strong and consistent voice for protecting reproductive rights and freedom, and for continuing to advance the United States’ leadership in realizing these rights for people around the world,” said Senator Duckworth. “As we’ve seen reproductive freedom ripped from Americans, it’s more critical than ever to recommit to reproductive health and rights for all. I’m proud to introduce this resolution alongside my colleagues to reiterate our support for comprehensive sexual and reproductive health rights and to recognize the 30th Anniversary of the ICPD.”

“Reproductive rights are human rights, and the 30th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development is an important reminder of both how far we have come and how far we have yet to go to ensure sexual and reproductive rights for all,” said Senator Shaheen. “I’m proud to introduce the first Senate resolution to recognize U.S. leadership for this groundbreaking event that firmly established the intrinsic importance of comprehensive reproductive care.”

Full text of the resolution can be found here.

Throughout her time in the Senate, Duckworth has been a staunch defender of reproductive freedom. Recently, Duckworth helped introduced the Right to Contraception Act, which would codify and strengthen the right to contraception. Duckworth has continued to be a leader on protecting IVF access as well, most recently leading the Senate’s Right to IVF Act.

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