Earlier this year, in June, the Forum of Women's NGOs of Kyrgyzstan sent an urgent request for international support to the protest against the initiatives that restrict women's right to abortion in Kyrgyzstan. Hundreds of signatures from around the world were collected in support of the campaign.

On June 13, Kyrgyz women's groups met to discuss the lobbying process in preparation for the following day of hearing at the national Parliament - Jogorku Kenesh, on the proposition of the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Kyrgyz Republic to introduce a criminal liability for women and medical personnel terminating 12-22 weeks pregnancy for social reasons. The campaigners were concerned about the outcome of the hearings because there are no women in the current Kyrgyz Parliament. Luckily, we had the support of the government officials, including the minister for health and minister for internal affairs. The Appeal Letter with national and international signatures was submitted to members of the Parliament and the Government.

In the Appeal Letter we stated that the adoption of the Ombudsman's proposition would be breaking women's fundamental human rights and contradicting both the national and international legislation. Kyrgyzstan has ratified over 40 UN conventions on human rights, including Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). In compliance with the CEDAW Committee's General

Recommendation #21 -- Equality in Marriage and Family Relations -- the decision of a woman to have or not to have a child "must not be limited by spouse, parent, partner or Government". In addition, the Committee recommends State parties to "ensure that measures are taken to prevent coercion in regard to fertility and reproduction" (General Recommendation #19, Violence against Women). According to the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic on Reproductive Rights (Article 12) "a woman can not be forced by anyone to pregnancy, abortion, or delivery. Such actions are qualified as violence against women".

The global experience demonstrates that decreases in the abortion rates are achieved not through violent repressions against women and medical personnel, but rather through targeted state policies supporting maternity, children, families, and reproductive rights. Effective regulation of people's reproductive behavior relies on a wide access to information and family planning services.

We expressed our concerns that criminalisation of abortion will lead to emergence of the illegal abortions industry which kills hundreds of women worldwide every day, abandoned and slaughtered children and destroyed families. "It will be hard to estimate economic damages from such a political step: maintenance of orphanages and prisons, as well as treatment and rehabilitation of victims of "street" abortions, and additional losses in manpower will become an extra burden for the nation," read the "action alert" letter.

And on June 14, the Kyrgyz Parliament voted down the initiative to introduce a criminal liability for women and medical workers terminating 12-22 weeks pregnancy for social reasons.

On behalf of the Kyrgyz women's rights activists, I would like to thank all those who supported our campaign for abortion rights. Hundreds of signatures from different parts of the world demonstrated that women in Kyrgyzstan are not alone in their struggle for women's rights. It made us feel part of the global women's movement.