Rep. Chris Smith (R-New Jersey)
The Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Human Rights and Law is holding hearings today to consider whether the United States should ratify a radical UN treaty that could lead to mandated federal funding of abortion and the violation of the conscience rights of pro-life health professionals.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), for which the subcommittee is considering approval, was signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1980 but has never garnered enough support in the Senate to be ratified into law.
In the announcement for the hearing, the subcommittee billed the treaty as protecting "fundamental human rights." However, pro-life Rep. Chris Smith (R-New Jersey) has pointed out that ratification of CEDAW would "subject (the U.S.) to the pro-abortion ideology" of a UN oversight committee that enforces the treaty.
Though CEDAW itself never directly mentions abortion, Article 12 has been used by the committee that oversees enforcement of the treaty to attempt to force abortion on numerous countries where it is outlawed.
Article 12 states, "States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of health care in order to ensure … access to health care services, including those related to family planning."
In a letter addressed to members of Congress, Smith explained that the CEDAW Committee interprets Article 12 to mean that all member countries must publicly fund elective abortions. Further, the Committee uses Article 12 to argue that pro-life physicians do not have the right to refuse participation in procedures that violate their consciences.
Rep. Smith pointed to several of many statements the Committee has made over the years displaying their overt pro-abortion ideology.
In 1998, the Committee wrote an opinion to Croatia in which it reprimanded the country for laws protecting pro-life doctors' rights saying: "It [the Committee] is also concerned about information regarding the refusal, by some hospitals, to provide abortions on the basis of conscientious objection of doctors. The Committee considers this to be an infringement of women's reproductive rights."
Further, the Committee also encouraged the small African country of Burkina Faso to federally subsidize abortion. In 2000, it told the country, "It [the Committee] also recommends that the State party should review its legislation on abortion and provide for coverage by social security."
Under the U.S. Constitution, a treaty that is signed by a president and ratified by the Senate would have the force of law. Smith points out that this means statements made by the CEDAW committee could be used by courts in the U.S. to strike down pro-life laws, including those requiring parental consent, protecting conscientious objectors, and banning partial birth abortion.
"Since legalized abortion is not sufficient to satisfy the extreme views of the CEDAW Committee, common sense laws in the United States and the fifty states will be under attack," says Smith.
"If CEDAW is ratified by the Senate, the United States (U.S.) will not escape their overreaching efforts to impose abortion on our country as an international obligation."
Contact: Matthew Anderson
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Publish Date: November 18, 2010
