Women and the Cairo conference.

The UN Population Conference in Cairo again turns my thoughts to the plight of women, especially in the underdeveloped countries. Women of all ages who even in this supposedly enlightened time don't have the right even to question or hope, much less a choice. Conference participants will be addressing the status of women, a contributing factor to population growth. Hopefully with courage and determination they will bring about an improvement in the lives of women. With the number of people reaching 6 billion, conditions can only get worse. Life in many areas has already become cheap and expendable. The unwanted street children of Brazil are just one example. Access to counseling and contraception would help women control the number of children they want and can care for. Unfortunately the Vatican has encouraged a coalition with the Islamic fundamentalists in an effort to undermine the reproductive health provisions. This alliance can only see "abortion, abortion" as its members eulogize the reverence for life. Considering half a million women die each year from pregnancy causes and botched abortions, one must question the validity of their passion. I hope I live long enough to see the church admit that there is a limit to the number of children a family can care for and that God does not always provide. What the Vatican chooses to call "abortion on demand," a clever, negative term used to imply arrogance, is most often who gets food and who doesn't.