[JURIST] American women delegates joined their counterparts from around the world meeting at the United Nations [UN conference summary] Friday to reaffirm a blueprint aimed at supporting global equality for women. The reaffirmation of the goals of the 1995 Beijing World Conference on Women [UN website] came after the US backed down [JURIST report] from an initial proposal to include an anti-abortion amendment. When reassurances were provided to the US that terms such as "reproductive health services" and "reproductive rights" did not constitute support, promotion, or advocacy of abortion, the declaration was unanimously adopted. Though representatives from many countries felt that the abortion issue was a distraction from more important topics in the economic, political, and educational lives of women, UN Status of Women Commission Chair Kyung wha-Kang was grateful for the "spirit of cooperation" in the final voting. AP has more.