official  US  delegations,  special  UN  meetings,  and special sessions. They have succeeded in publicizing their  frame  that  the  right  to  life  is  a  basic  human right  and  that  advocates  for  abortion  access  and reproductive health are calling for illegitimate, spe- cial rights. They have cultivated hostility to the UN among  the  U.S.  “pro-life”  community.  And  they have pressured Bush to overturn Congressional deci- sions by refusing to fund some international health programs. Going Global with Anti-Choice Politics M any  conservative  Christian- based    organizations    find going  global  with  an  anti-choice message to be a comfortable fit. A series   of   factors   have   influenced this  move.  First,  many  faith  com- munities  have  a  long  history  and ongoing   practice   of   missionary work,  both  at  home  and  abroad. Much of this activity is direct serv- ice   delivery.   They   interpret   per- forming “good works” as a type of Christian min- istry. The opportunity to bring the message of Christ to non-Christians, or to evangelize, provides motiva- tion for acting globally. In the case of the Christian Right, this message carries their staunchly conserva- tive values abroad. As  early  as  the  mid-1980s,  Beverly  LaHaye’s Concerned  Women  for  America  (CWA),  a  group heavily involved in the U.S. “culture wars,” protest- ed the persecution of a Christian poet in the Soviet Union   and   called   attention   to   the   needs   of Nicaraguans  who  lived  in  refugee  camps  in  Costa Rica.⁵ Choosing these projects was politically savvy, since they appealed to a still thriving anti-commu- nist  impulse  as  well  as  a  deep  concern  within  the Christian Right around issues of religious freedom. By 1999, CWA realized the potential of generating a framework for its international work. A second factor has been the resurgence of con- servative   evangelical   involvement   in   the   political sphere. While eschewing politics through most of the 20th century, evangelicals are now recognized as one of the major contributors to the rise of the political Right⁶ over the last 40 years. Early leaders of this shift into  politics,  like  James  Dobson  of  Focus  on  the Family and Tim and Beverly LaHaye, are among those at the forefront of Christian Right international work. Another reason to work at the UN is the oppor- tunity to increase an organization’s political power. The UN is a meeting place for powerful people from around the world. This convergence motivates con- servative   organizations   to   spend   considerable resources to travel extensively to gatherings hosted in   New   York   and   around   the world. Because of their official sta- tus as nongovernmental organiza- tions  (NGOs)  at  the  UN,  groups can   work   directly   with   State Department  officials  in  the  U.S. delegation,  particularly  now  that anti-choice UN critic John Bolton is  ambassador.  This  has  allowed for  greater  incorporation  of  once marginal political groups from the Right.  At  the  same  time,  the  Bush  administration has implemented conservative elements into policies like the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or  PEPFAR.  These  moves  signal  sympathy  with socially  conservative  positions  and  provide  rein- forcement  for  the  work  of  conservative  U.S.-based groups that seek to do international work. Finally, an extensive network of health and fem- inist organizations across the globe has successfully advocated   for   women’s   sexual   and   reproductive autonomy for decades, in both local and global are- nas. The global women’s health movement has made substantial  gains  in  guaranteeing  access  to  health services for women and girls, including reproductive services, and the UN has increased its commitment to women and children. These impressive gains have attracted  organizations  that  oppose  abortion  and comprehensive sexuality education, igniting a small but vigorous backlash movement at the UN. UNd o i n g   R e p r o d u c t i v e   Fr e e d o m  ^•Christian Right NGOs Target the United Nations POLITICAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATES   2006 2 The global women’s health movement has made substantial gains…igniting a small but vigorous backlash movement at the UN. ⁵Concerned Women for America timeline, http://www.cwfa.org/history.asp. ⁶PRA defines the U.S. political Right as a wide range of  institutions, individuals, and social movements that defend unfair power and privilege for some and oppose full social and economic justice for all.