” “Contraception and abortion as ways to protect the mother’s and child’s health in the developing countries. This is supported by a joint resolution passed by the European Parliament in Brussels, with 394 votes for and 182 votes against. The text refers to the fifth of the eight Millennium Objectives that were outlined in 2000 to eradicate world poverty, disease and underdevelopment by 2015. The document, submitted by the main political groups within the EU Parliament, in the run-up to the UN World Conference due to take place on September 25th, also asks for investments to be made in health facilities, in the training of medical staff in Africa and Asia, in the "education of women" as a preventative measure. The resolution was amended by the European Parliament as follows: one amendment stated that contraception should become more widespread through the use of condoms to prevent "diseases and unwanted pregnancies"; another amendment refers to the "possibility to resort to legal, safe abortion" to reduce the mothers’ death rate in the poor countries.
