quote: Over half of Nepal's women listed as maternal mortalities have died from unsafe abortions. This makes Nepal's the fourth highest maternal mortality rate in the world. But today, George W. Bush's anti-abortion crusade is directly connected with increasing the death rate among the women and girls in Nepal. By contrast, officials at the Nepalese Ministry of Health had recently concluded that legalizing abortion in Nepal is the first step towards reducing the country's maternal mortality.
More than three decades ago, the United States helped Nepal reverse its climbing maternal mortality rates through the Agency for International Development. In part, the USAID got everyone started in family planning in Nepal 35 years ago. But now, under pressure from the religious right, Washington has even cut funding for condoms, jeopardizing Nepal’s family planning and also the success of the much ballyhooed US anti-AIDs campaign.