PO Box 20203, Washington, D.C. 20041
2008 August
International Pressure to Change Pro-Life Laws
Deceit behind the Term “Reproductive Health” Explained
A Peruvian expert on sexuality and the family has highlighted the deceptive use of “reproductive health” to promote abortion. Rene Flores explained the term emerged from the 1994 World Conference on Population and Development, and has since come to be used by leaders and parliaments around the world. Included in the umbrella meaning of “reproductive health” are the issues of abortion, emergency contraception, and forced sterilization. The passage of “reproductive health” initiatives into laws and policies are intended to “… give social and legal legitimacy to the idea of ‘reproductive health’,” Flores further explained.
Ipas Acknowledges Abortion Included in Reproductive Health
At the 2008 International AIDS Conference this month in Mexico City, abortion advocates sought to include reproductive health with HIV/AIDS services . Ipas and International Planned Parenthood Federation were active participants in the conference, advocating comprehensive reproductive health care that includes abortion, emergency contraception, and postabortion care. Said Ipas President and CEO Elizabeth Maguire, "We should not be afraid to say the 'A' word — abortion. Even now, in much reproductive rights discourse, this issue is often hidden or implied rather than explicit, seemingly in deference to those who still refuse to accept it as a vital part of reproductive health care."
CEDAW Committee Members Continue Pro-Abortion Pressure: Northern Ireland Latest Target
Many countries which respect the lives of unborn children face pressure from the members of the committee, referred to as “experts”, overseeing the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). A recent survey of the committee revealed that half of the private citizens serving on CEDAW committee have direct associations and in some cases employment with radical NGOs including the Latin America and Caribbean Committee for the Defense of Women's Rights, the International Council of Women, the Global Fund for Women, and the International Women’s Rights Action Watch (IWRAW). The twenty-three committee members come from Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Algeria, Croatia, Cuba, Egypt, France, Thailand, Ghana, Netherlands, Finland, India, Kenya, Israel, Slovenia, Jamaica, Finland, Mauritius, Japan, Spain, Romania, and Afghanistan.
Northern Ireland is the latest example of pro-abortion pressure from CEDAW. CEDAW members have intruded into the abortion debate by expressing support for an amendment by Labour MP Diane Abbott to the controversial Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill in the British Parliament to force legal abortion upon Northern Ireland.
Betty Gibson of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) states that the CEDAW committee is overreaching its mandate and violating other UN documents: "Nowhere in the treaty is abortion mentioned," Gibson says. "The UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child recognizes that 'the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth.'"
She continued, "The law in Northern Ireland upholds internationally recognized human rights by providing legal protection for children before birth. The CEDAW committee has no legitimate interest in abortion law and has no authority to demand that we end the legal protection of unborn children here. In doing so, CEDAW threatens genuine human rights.”
Bernadette Smyth of the Northern Ireland pro-life group Precious Life also accused CEDAW of trying to "bully" Northern Ireland into legalizing abortion by stating: "CEDAW is obsessed with abortion and has a long history of bullying countries where abortion is illegal or restricted. Now they're trying to bully Northern Ireland into legalizing abortion," she said.
Legislative News
Kenya: Parliament Considers Legislation to Legalize Abortion under Reproductive Health
Legislation before the Kenyan Parliament seeks to legalize abortion on demand in Kenya. The drafted Reproductive Health and Rights bill says "safe and accessible abortion-related care" is a reproductive right. Written under the auspices of reproductive health, the legislation would permit abortion in all circumstances and require medical professionals to perform them. Kenya’s Gender and Children’s Affairs Minister Esther Murugi , who is also a Member of Parliament, has opposed the bill and urged other MPs to block it when it comes to the House. “If that Bill is passed, we are going to see mayhem in this country. We should educate our children on the importance of abstinence and not to legalise abortion, which is murder”.
Lithuania: Parliament to Vote on Legislation to Further Restrict Abortion
The Lithuanian Parliament is considering legislation to protect unborn babies from the violence of abortion. The drafted law, called the Act of the Republic of Lithuania on the protection of the human life in the prenatal stage, would tighten restrictions on abortion in the country. Fearing a pro-life legislative victory, IPPF with other abortion advocates and the Parliamentarian Group on Development, Reproductive Health and Rights organized a hearing in the Lithuanian Parliament on abortion . The abortion advocates sought to convince parliamentarians of the need for abortion on demand in preparation for the upcoming vote on the legislation.
Guatemalan Lawmakers Pledge to Protect the Unborn
71 Guatemalan lawmakers, under the leadership of the President of the Congress, signed the Book of Life , affirming their commitment to defend life from conception to natural death. Abortion advocates protested outside during the ceremony, which was attended by Catholic and Evangelical leaders and the Congressional Board of Directors. The Book of Life initiative, which raises awareness of the importance of protecting life, began in Honduras, has been signed in El Salvador, and is next headed to Costa Rica, and possibly Panama and Mexico.
Executive News
Vietnam Acts to Stop Gender Imbalance
Vietnam’s Ministry of Health has enacted stronger measures to combat the practice of gender selection of unborn babies. Health departments across the country are being asked to cooperate with the new initiative, which includes fines for the use of ultrasound, or other tests to determine a baby’s gender. Vietnam’s population has a significantly disproportionate number of boys to girls, with a current ratio of 115-128 males per 100 females, up from 2005 levels of 105 boys per 100 girls.
Judicial News
Supreme Court in Mexico Sustains Legalized Abortion
Eight of the eleven justices serving the on the Supreme Court of Mexico have ruled that the Mexico City law legalizing abortion up to the 12 th week of pregnancy is constitutional. This decision sustains the pro-abortion law passed by the socialist majority of the Mexico City legislature. These eight justices rejected arguments that the Mexico City law violated human rights and exceeded Mexico City’s jurisdiction put forth by the Justice Department and Human Rights Commission.
Parliamentarians of the socialist Party of the Democratic Revolution in the national Chamber of Deputies are predicting that this ruling will open the way to legalization in all of Mexico’s 31 states. Pro-life advocates will oppose any and all such attempts and intend to push for a referendum in Mexico City. Deputy María de la Paz Quiñones of the National Action Party (PAN), a representative in the nation's Chamber of Deputies, led pro-lifers in a protest in Zocalo stating: "The struggle for life has been and always will be our purpose, and we will continue struggling for it.”
Brazilian Supreme Court to Rule on Abortion Exception
Brazil’s Supreme Court will rule this month on the legalization of abortion in cases of anencephaly. The National Conference of Catholic Bishops, evangelical leaders, and pro-life groups will present arguments against the change, which is advocated by abortion proponent Catholics for a Free Choice and others. Incredibly, Chief Justice Marco Aurelio Mello has not requested the participation of parents of anencephalic babies. Baby Marcela de Jesus Ferreira, who recently died from a complication of pneumonia, survived for 20 months with the birth defect. The hearings began August 26 th and will continue through September 4, 2008.
Issues
Prenatal Testing Results in Abortion of 84% of Down Syndrome Babies
A Norwegian study has found that 84% of Down Syndrome babies are aborted, and that the prenatal detection used to determine the presence of trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome) is often inaccurate. The study conducted by the Norwegian National Center for Fetal Medicine and published this month supports other studies that have indicated the inaccuracies of prenatal detection and tendency for false positives resulting in the abortion of healthy children. Prenatal testing for Down Syndorme has become routine, especially for pregnant women over age 35, even though the results only give a percentage possibility of Down Syndrome, not a diagnosis.
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The Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues (PNCI) is committed to networking members of democratically-elected legislatures in efforts to advance respect for the inherent value, worth, and inviolable dignity of every human being from the first moment of existence. PNCI issues the Parliamentary Network E-News to provide lawmakers, and those who work with them, news from various sources on the international threat to pro-life laws and current legislative and judicial actions on critical life issues challenging parliamentarians around the world. PNCI is a project of Life Issues Institute.
All news articles include links to original source. PNCI cannot verify that the information contained in the news articles is accurate. info@pncius.org
