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Pro-life evangelicals have been unexpectedly pleased by the results of the United Nations population conference, even though with few exceptions they found themselves sidelined in the sharp debates in Cairo.

Indeed, Rep. Christopher Smith (R-N.J.), an outspoken proponent of international human rights, called the outcome of the conference "a remarkable victory for global pro-life forces and the 100 countries throughout the world that legally protect the lives of their unborn children."

While Roman Catholics and some Muslim groups were influential at the historic United Nations International Conference on Population and Development, evangelicals afterwards were asking: Why didn't more evangelical Christians exercise greater influence?

There was a marked contrast between the respectful dialogue engaged in by disagreeing delegates and the discordant rhetoric of several American pro-lifers, who did not so much lead a moral crusade in Cairo as engage in disruption. They spoke out of order, interrupted proceedings, and got arrested.

While Smith and a few others worked inside the system, other Christian groups stood outside the process firing salvos. The International Right to Life's efforts, led by New York nurse Jeanne Head, issued press releases on the UN document and U.S. motivations, claiming the Clinton administration was using "coercion" on "poor countries" to achieve its goals. Some religious broadcasting journalists accused Latin American leaders of "bowing to financial pressures from the United States."

Several pro-lifers from the United States attended the conference on media credentials but went beyond journalistic bounds by lobbying in the halls of the conference and by using press briefings to voice their opinions. Such tactics led to the arrests of four pro-life leaders. All were detained by United Nations security police and turned over to Egyptian police for a 24-hour hotel detention while their press credentials were being reviewed. They were later released.

Pro-life leader Keith Tucci claims the National Organization for Women masterminded the arrest by asking Timothy Wirth, leader of the U.S. delegation, "to get us kicked out of the country."

Two press briefings were suspended because of the continued platforming by pro-life groups during official press sessions. The final press conference was terminated suddenly as an American pro-lifer screamed at Wirth, "You and America are an embarrassment to the world."

Despite those actions, Elizabeth de Calderon, the First Lady of El Salvador and a well-known evangelical, carefully presented her nation's unequivocal commitment to the pro-life platform.

Also, Smith headed a well-coordinated campaign to keep abortion out of the final plan. Prior to the Cairo conference, Smith rallied 72 members of Congress to sign a letter urging all delegations to the conference to "resist and reject every attempt [of the U.S. delegation] to pressure or intimidate your sovereign nation into accepting abortion on demand."

The letter described abortion as an affront to the rights of children and recalled the language of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: "The child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth."

A 113-page plan of action emerged from the nine-day forum, which calls all nations to work together to alleviate human suffering.

Unlike previous United Nations documents on population, this plan takes an integrated approach to economics, human rights, the environment, poverty, and population. The plan states:

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October 24 1994, Vol. 38, No. 12