More on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

I sincerely thank Susan for her recent posting addressing the Millennium Development Goals. When the Millennium Declaration was promulgated in 2000, it addressed, for the most part, the pressing issues of humanity that could be embraced by most people. Unfortunately, the MDGs have been subjected to problematic interpretations since the Millennium Declaration was adopted in September of 2000. Some of these interpretations concern matters that do conflict or likely conflict with Catholic teachings. For example, in 2000, the MDGs said nothing about a code phrase “reproductive health” which now frequently appears in UN documents. This phrase has often been associated with problematic claims such as “the right to abortion”. In the most recent report on the MDGs (2007), this interesting passage appears:

The vast majority of maternal deaths and disabilities could be prevented through appropriate reproductive health services before, during and after pregnancy, and through life-saving interventions should complications arise.

From this text and the context in which it appears in the 2007 report, the MDGs have become a pawn for those interest groups that have been laboring for a universal right to abortion. This is not the only problem affecting the MDGs, but it is one of the major ones. The MDGs have been compromised. Their initial noble goals have been corrupted by interest groups who favor programs, including population control and universal abortion access, that undermine the moral status of the MDGs. On a note of hope, there is time for interested parties and persons to realize what is happening and to lend a hand to get the MDGs back on track.    RJA sj