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(New York, NY) — Pro-life groups won an unexpected victory this week in their efforts to shield children worldwide from abortion, but more effort is needed to further ensure their protection.
The breakthrough came as a panel of United Nations (U.N.) delegates from various countries were hammering out language in the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, an international treaty that promises sweeping protections for children around the world.
At the prodding of the Bush administration's U.S. delegation, a member of the pro-abortion Canadian delegation admitted that countries could interpret the document's call for children's access to “reproductive health services” as a call for children to have access to abortion, as well.
The phrase proposed for a draft document to be presented at the September United Nations World Summit for Children was, “full gender equality and equal access to services, such as education, nutrition, health care, including sexual and reproductive health care.”
During the late-night session, negotiations had tightened as deliberations moved toward paragraph 21 of the draft document, where problematical phrases would need careful review. The Canadian delegate took the floor and replied with exasperation, “The distinguished delegate of the United States knows that, of course – and I hate to use the word – but in 'services' is included abortion.”
The stunning admission prompted a heated debate over inclusion of the term.
“In that case,” said U.S. delegate Terry Miller, “brackets must go around that word.” Brackets mark the text for later negotiations. Miller continued, “Now that we have had the explicit definition of services as including abortion, I would be amazed if my delegation is the only delegation to object to the use of 'services.'”
Pro-life delegations were adamant that if “services” meant abortion, they could not accept such language. The delegate from Chile, who serves as a spokesman for the 10-nation Rio Group, was clear: “In my country, abortion is illegal. We by no means support abortion in the use of 'services' and so we delete 'services.'”
A South American delegate echoed that sentiment: “Never before have we heard that 'services' included abortion.”
Msgr. Reinert of the Holy See delegation was emphatic: “My delegation – and personally, I am shocked – we will have to re-examine the entire document for the word 'service' if it means abortion. Every time the U.N. uses 'services,' if it means basic social services that is acceptable, but not including abortion.”
The nation of Bahrain supported the Holy See as did other countries.
“Each nation ought to be respected for its culture and historical as well as religious traditions,” remarked a delegate from Mexico. The Mexican delegation under Vincente Fox is split over abortion issues but is expected to confirm the pro-life position.
Sudan, also serving as a spokesman for a group of nations, was tenacious in its refusal to be cowed by what is known as the “northern nations,” a reference to the northern European nations that have pro-abortion and euthanasia policies.
Austin Ruse, with the pro-life UN lobbying group Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, said pro-life groups for years have fought for such an admission from abortion supporters at the U.N.
“The significance is that at long last somebody actually told the truth,” Ruse said. “Generally, they try to sneak funny words in and then they obfuscate the definitions. And in a rare moment of blinding candor, the Canadian delegation said that phrase — 'reproductive health and services' — means abortion. And there was an explosion.”
During the 1990s, several United Nations conferences have sought to make abortion a universal right. Pro-life non-governmental organizations and pro-life nations have fought close battles to keep abortion a matter reserved to individual nations and not codified in international covenants and legal instruments. Each successive conference has become a testy battleground between nations with pro-abortion laws, such as Sweden and Norway, and the nations where abortion is not legal. Pro-life policy planners have viewed with alarm the World Summit for Children document as it has progressed through several drafts. They see the trend toward granting children 0-18 years old more autonomy as an unhealthy trend that
divides parents and children. The “right” for minors to seek an abortion without parental knowledge or consent is just one of the many contentious issues under discussion at the U.N. this week.
Peter Brandt, issues response director for Focus on the Family, praised the U.S. delegation for helping to expose pro-abortion advocates' agenda, but warned that the battle is far from over.
“We need to have the White House instruct the delegation to make sure that there's no other words with hidden meaning (in the document)” Brandt said.
TAKE ACTION: Contact President Bush and thank him for the U.S. delegation's work in protecting the sanctity of life in the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child. Ask him to have the delegation continue to press for the removal of any other terms that could give the world's children access to abortion.
President Bush
Comment line: 202-456-1111
E-mail: president@whitehouse.gov
