Pro-Life Advocates Launch United Nations Campaign to Oppose Abortion 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
July 2, 2006
Geneva, Switzerland (LifeNews.com) — An Irish member of the European parliament and a British pro-life group are launching a new campaign at the United Nations to protect the right to life of unborn children from abortion. The effort comes at a time when Amnesty International is considering supporting abortion, which could move the UN more in favor of abortion.
Kathy Sinnott, an independent European parliamentarian for Ireland has joined with the British Society for the Protection of Unborn Children to launch an international campaign called "Amnesty for Babies before Birth."
The campaign features a "declaration" of the rights of unborn children and asks nations that are members of the United Nations to sign the declaration.
The pro-life advocates also want lawmakers who are members of national and regional parliaments or legislatures to sign the document as well to provide more political support for it.
"We appeal to all UN member states to put protection in place for the most vulnerable members of our society; the genuinely voiceless ones; the child before birth," SPUC’s John Smeaton said.
"The declaration on the right to life of the child before birth is the first initiative in this campaign and is central to the reason SPUC was founded," Smeaton added.
Referring to the possible abortion policy change at Amnesty International, Smeaton said pro-life groups are "opposed all attempts to make abortion a human right." He said pro-life groups should continue to "have language included in UN conventions and other documents that upholds the right to life at all stages and phases of life, from conception to natural death."
The United Nations has previous had a declaration for the right of children "but it is the first time that anyone has prepared a declaration dealing exclusively with the rights of the child before birth," Smeaton explained.
Smeaton said he hoped nations would go beyond the declaration "to put in place legislation which will provide the much-needed special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, for the baby before birth."
The Canadian, British, and New Zealand Amnesty International branches have voted to endorse abortion and the Australian group will vote at the end of July.
