(Updates with U.S. Treasury comment in paragraphs 6 and 7, adds background in paragraphs 5, 9, 11-12)

WASHINGTON, April 24 (Reuters) - European nations on Tuesday objected to a U.S. effort to alter language on reproductive health services, including abortions, in a proposed World Bank health strategy for poor countries.

World Bank sources told Reuters that representatives from France, Germany, Italy and Norway objected to the move by the U.S. representative on the board, Whitney Debevoise, during a discussion on the bank's Strategy for Health, Nutrition and Population Results.

The sources said the dispute was over Debevoise's proposal to insert the phrase "age appropriate access to sexual and reproductive healthcare" -- language the Europeans said could restrict younger women's access to reproductive services in poor countries.

They said the U.S. move would have changed the phrasing from "reproductive health services."

The differences over language have been going on for several days and were not yet concluded.

A U.S. Treasury spokesperson said discussions over the World Bank strategy had been taking place for nearly a year and there were substantial parts of the proposal that the United States backs.

"It covers a full spectrum of support for health care in developing countries ... ," the spokesperson said.

The Bush administration has frequently been accused of denying funds to groups or clinics that even offer advice about abortion. It has also been accused of trying to limit access to birth control, although the U.S. government does distribute more condoms globally than any other country.

The World Bank has worked in population and reproductive health for more than three decades and loaned more than $3 billion for issues in the area.

Reproductive health addresses problems such as early and unwanted childbearing, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, and illness and deaths from infections during pregnancy.

The latest dispute follows the leak of documents earlier this month that show the bank's Managing Director, Juan Jose Daboub, had deleted all references to family planning in a bank strategy being prepared for the African island nation of Madagascar.

World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz has denied any changes to the bank's policy on reproductive health, saying it was a major part of the bank's development agenda.

"I think reproductive health is absolutely crucial," he said on April 12. "The policy of this institution, I think, was very clear before I got here, and will remain very clear."

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