The landmark international conference on population and development, held in Cairo, in 1994, internationally clarified and defined reproductive rights. At this conference, 179 countries, including Canada, agreed that universal reproductive rights are necessary for individual advancement and the balanced development of a nation. The conference resulted in the development of a 20 year Programme of Action that centered on reducing mortality, providing universal education, and access to reproductive health care by 2015. However, it is estimated, by the World Health Organization (WHO), that each year, 500,000 women still die from pregnancy related causes. Living in a country where the maternal mortality rate is only at 0.8 of the total percentage of women’s deaths, I argue that the Canadian government is denying many women in third world nations of their reproductive rights by not providing adequate funding and services to overseas development initiatives. To support this argument, this paper will investigate the strong need for help with funding that women living in developing countries need and are not provided with by their own government(s). I will argue that Canadians, as well as other developed countries, should be responsible for assisting women who are born into countries that deprive them of their reproductive rights. Furthermore, this paper will discuss the benefits that stronger funding for family planning programs as well as reproductive health education could have on women living in unfortunate circumstances in third world nations. I argue that with adequate family planning and education, maternal mortality rates would decrease. Lastly, I will examine the benefits of providing funding and access to sufficient health care services and in particular, the benefits of emergency and maternity health care services.
