Trump Admin and Pro-Life Nations Stop Latest Attempt to Push Abortion at the UN

By Stefano Gennarini, JD
Life News

The United States and the African Group rejected a UN resolution on migration last week because Europeans insisted upon including abortion-related language and excluding language that would protect national sovereignty.

The Chairman, Ambassador Ion Jinga of Romania, appeared impatient and frustrated as countries met one last time to try and reach an agreement at the last meeting of this year’s session of the Commission on Population and Development Friday afternoon.

Siding with a European-led coalition against the United States and the African Group, Jinga did not include a paragraph about sovereignty or delete abortion related terminology in the final Chairman’s draft of the agreement after negotiations broke down Thursday evening. It proved fatal to the draft.

The European coalition convinced Jinga that the Africans’ and the United States’ insistence on these issues was a bluff. It was a calculated risk. The Europeans would rather not have an agreement at all, than having one that rules out an international right to abortion.

Jinga tried his hand at humor in his final desperate plea, without success. “There is not the word sovereignty. But if you take a dictionary you will see that the word is there. If you Google the word sovereignty you will find the wording I have used in the text,” Jinga said emphatically.

The Ambassador of Algeria saw this as reproach.

“We don’t need Google, because the main definition of sovereignty is in the UN Charter,” he retorted, describing sovereignty as a sacred principle of the UN Charter.

“Without respect between delegations and to the founding principles of the Charter we cannot advance,” the Algerian added.

Delegates took the floor to lament the lack of consensus and the intransigence of the European coalition.

“We have called for the inclusion of a true sovereignty clause,” said the U.S. delegate referring to standard language about respect for sovereignty in many UN agreements. She said the failure to reach an agreement was “regrettable.”

In addition, she explained the U.S. had been equally clear that it was unwilling to accept “unqualified” references to abortion related terms like sexual and reproductive health.

“These terms are open to many interpretations,” she said, pointing to the International Conference on Population and Development, as the only acceptable framework to refer to the terms, because it excluded an international right to abortion.

A delegate of the Holy See blamed the failure of the commission on “persistent disregard for red lines” and an “inordinate focus” on abortion related terms.

Life News article continues here

Trump Administration Tells UN Abortion is Not a “Human Right”

By Austin Ruse
Life News

A coalition of 197 groups from around the world have sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson thanking him for expected changes in the annual State Department report on human rights.

The letter thanks Tillerson “…for supporting a proper understanding of international human rights in the forthcoming State Department’s annual Human Rights Report. By rejecting attempts to include abortion and other contentious issues, which are not universally agreed-upon human rights, you are returning the United States to its leadership role in promoting the right to life and protecting the family.”

The letter “…welcomed news from spokeswoman Heather Nauert that the State Department will no longer attempt to dilute the seriousness of human rights and ‘will sharpen the focus of the report on abuses of internationally recognized human rights and the most egregious issues.’”

In recent years, under the Obama administration, the report became a grab-bag of issues that are not considered human rights but are considered important issues to the political left, most especially abortion, also LGBT issues.

The report is intended to shine a light on human rights abuses and concerns around the world. Traditionally understood, human rights are those found in agreed-upon human rights documents, like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; rights to vote, assemble, freedom of religion, political self-determination, and others.

Since the political left decamped to the United Nations several decades ago, attempts have been made to reinterpret human rights documents. These efforts, to make abortion a human right and to include special protections based on sexual practices, have consistently failed at the UN. But this has not stopped left wing governments from attempting to export them through reports like the one expected any day from the U.S. State Department.

In recent weeks, left wing staff members at the U.S. State Department leaked the impending changes to the online publication Politico which dutifully published two stories, neither of which presented the views of the pro-life and pro-family human rights community. Pro-abortion groups also sent a group letter of complaint to Secretary Tillerson.

The letter from pro-life human rights groups points out that UN human rights bodies have pressured 154 countries 479 times to liberalize their abortion laws based on their own personal views of human rights treaties. They point out that the U.S. will send a strong signal that this is unacceptable, and that the U.S. adheres to a proper understanding of human rights.

Life News article continues here

United Nations Plan to Push Sex on Young Children is Defeated as African Nations Fight Back

By Stefano Gennarini, J.D.
Life News

Parental authority made a comeback in three UN resolutions about children this week, something thought impossible just a year ago.

There were audible gasps from the floor of the UN conference room on Monday morning as the vote tally of the UN third committee appeared on the overhead screen. The vote was close. Parental guidance in sex education unexpectedly won the day, with the United States voting in favor.

African nations and the small island state of Saint Lucia orchestrated a successful volley of hostile amendments to three resolutions calling for sex education for young children. The Africans were adamant that any resolution committing states or the UN system to providing sex education should include a caveat on “appropriate direction and guidance from parents and legal guardians.”

Saint Lucia was the first to introduce the amendment. It proposed parental guidance language in paragraphs about sex education last Friday in a resolution about girls and one about adolescents and youth, defined by the UN as beginning at 10 years of age.

“Parents and the family play an important role in guiding children,” the delegate said in the General Assembly. She said the original language in the resolution was “not adequate” because it relegated the role of parents to that of equal partners with young people, health providers and educators. She pointed to the UN treaty on the rights of the child as recognizing the rights of parents to direct the education of their children.

While the amendment failed in the resolution on youth, the very same amendment to identical paragraphs about sex education was adopted in three other resolutions on the girl child, the rights of the child, and girls with disabilities, introduced by the African Group in the latter two. Gasps gave way to applause with each amendment adopted.

Visibly frustrated European and Latin American delegates called for a vote on these amendments, a request only made in UN negotiations when the stakes are high. More often than not these delegations are able to use the rules of procedure to their advantage. This time they were outmaneuvered by the Africans in three resolutions.

The European Union said they did not see the paragraph on sex education as consensual. They were echoed by delegates from Latin America who called it “highly problematic.” Canada’s representative said, “we cannot accept this.” An Australian delegate said they were “extremely disappointed.” Many justified their opposition as technicalities and not as a substantive matter.

A delegate from Norway was more transparent, and said they could not accept the premise of the amendment because “children should decide freely and autonomously” on matters involving sexual and reproductive health.

An Egyptian delegate speaking on behalf of all African countries except South Africa responded with equal transparency, “Our African culture respects parental rights,“ and, “Egypt rejects attempts of certain countries to impose their education system on others.”

The United States and the Holy See emphasized the role of parents in sex education and rejected abortion as a component of sexual and reproductive health.

UN agencies continue to promote “comprehensive sexuality education” through their offices around the world, though the General Assembly rejected it last year. The lack of consensus on the issue has so far foiled attempts to legitimize this type of sexual education in UN programming.

Website: Life News

UN Says Women Who Want to “Avoid Pregnancy” Should Use Abortion as Family Planning

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By Stefano Gennarini, J.D.
Life News

Governments have long agreed that abortion cannot be a part of family planning. The World Health Organization has gone along with that consensus until now. Recent journal articles by WHO researchers demonstrate the powerful global agency now rejects that consensus.

Women who want to “avoid pregnancy” following government guidelines in the wake of the Zika scare in Latin America “will need family planning services such as contraception and access to safe abortion,” according to one article that goes on to propose “evaluations of the barriers to access, availability, utilization and readiness of contraception, abortion and post-abortion services.”

The statement that abortion is a “family planning service” contradicts what the UN General Assembly has agreed for decades, namely, that “under no circumstance should abortion be promoted as a method of family planning.”

In another paper WHO researchers devise strategies to promote abortion and measure abortion access around the world, setting the stage to help groups that will carry out this work permanently through a network that would report, monitor, and evaluate “uptake and utilization of contraception and safe abortion care services.”

In Africa, WHO country teams are training doctors to perform abortions, sometimes over their objections, and perhaps even against the law.

WHO teams teach “post-abortion care,” which abortion advocates admit was intended as a stepping stone to introduce abortion. WHO staff have admitted this is a necessary step to introduce legal abortion in countries where it is outlawed.

Life News article continues

Trump’s Ambassador to the United Nations Says She is “Strongly Pro-Life”

Pro-Life Governor Nikki Haley

National Right to Life

Editor’s note. The following comes from the Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues and is reposted with permission.

Pro-Life Governor Nikki Haley from South Carolina has been confirmed to serve as US Ambassador to the United Nations. During Senate confirmation hearings Governor Haley told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that she will oppose abortion on an international level and stated that she is “strongly pro-life.”

Haley, the daughter of immigrants from India, stated during her election for governor,

“I believe every life has a value and is blessed by God–my husband was adopted and my pro-life convictions stem from the fact I feel the blessings of that value every day knowing someone chose life for him. I see it every day in my two children as I watch them grow. My hope is that we continue to encourage and work towards educating that value of life to everyone.”

The appointment and confirmation of pro-life Ambassador Haley to the United Nations brings hope to all who seek to protect women and children from the violence of abortion globally and who struggle against UN elitists who feverishly promote abortion.

National Right to Life article continues

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UN Global Tax Will Fund Global Abortion

by Austin Ruse
President/C-Fam
Publisher/Friday Fax

UN Radicals Want Your Money…
UN Radicals Want an Unchecked Revenue Stream…
This is a Profound Danger to the Unborn Child, the Family and to Democracy

A new report issued by a UN panel makes clear something I have worried about for years.

The panel is informing the World Humanitarian Summit meeting in Istanbul this May. The global tax was on their agenda. It was part of their secret negotiations! And though it was blocked there, I fully expect the Global Tax will come up at the Summit in May.

This is not the first time such an atrocity has been suggested. A 2011 UN Development Program report made an overt call for a Global UN Tax. In fact, the number two bureaucrats at the UN Development Program is on YouTube making the case for a Global UN Tax.

Such an abomination has been on the agenda of global radicals for decades. Why? Because they want their own money. They do not want to have to rely on voluntary contributions from governments. At least governments can put pressure on the UN to curb their radicalism. At least with government contributions, we as taxpayers can have a say.

But if the UN has its own independent revenue stream, their radicalism will be unchecked.

What is this tax proposal?

They propose taxing your airline tickets. They propose taxing you any time you change money for foreign travel. They propose to tax large banks when they make foreign financial transactions. Such a cost will undoubtedly be passed along to you, not to mention it will harm the already limping global economy.

What will they do with billions in taxes raised on you?

Continue with impunity to advance a global right to abortion, something the Secretary General wants to impose even on Christian countries where abortion is against the law!

I have to tell you that no one is watching this except for C-Fam and the Friday Fax. No one is proposing to do anything about this except C-Fam and the Friday Fax. We were the first to spot this.

Will you join us in blocking this truly frightening Global Tax to kill unborn children?

This will be a fight that will last months and even years. We are prepared to thrown all our resources into this fight.

How will we fight back?

• First, we are launching a global petition that will be delivered to the press, UN diplomats, Congressmen in this country and around the world, and even UN bureaucrats. We will let them know that hundreds of thousands of people from around the world are appalled at this idea. 

• Second, I am sending two C-Fam staffers to the World Humanitarian Summit. They will monitor the situation and plead our case to the diplomats who attend. We are told the UN is already blocking most groups from attending. Don’t worry. We’ll go anyway. 

• Third, we intend to send millions of emails in four languages all over the world warning regular people about this emergency. 

This will be very expensive and I come to you once more for help.

• First please pray for us, every day if you can. 

• Second, when you get the petition from us in the coming weeks, please sign and send to all your friends and family.

• Third, please go to our website by clicking on the image below and contribute to this truly frightening fight.                           

If the UN gets an independent revenue stream, unborn babies will die, the family will come under even greater pressure, and the homosexual agenda will be imposed even on Christian countries.

Don’t wait, please click on the button above and give as much as you can.  Please go there now and help us stop this atrocity.

Voices for the Unborn is dedicated to informing and educating the public on pro-life and pro-family issues. To read our Mission Statement, use this link. You can also follow us on Facebook, Google, and Pinterest. Help spread the word by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks.