UN Report on Violence Against Women Calls for Legalized Abortion

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Oct 13, 2006   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

UN Report on Violence Against Women Calls for Legalized Abortion Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 13
, 2006

New York, NY (LifeNews.com) — A new report issued by the United Nations this week on violence against women calls for the legalization of abortion. The call comes despite a growing body of research showing abortion hurts women by causing numerous medical problems, even death, and a myriad of emotional and psychological concerns.

The new report was compiled by a number of different UN agencies, departments and national governments.

The Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, a pro-life organization that lobbies at the UN, indicates that the report relied on input from leading abortion advocacy groups, including the Center for Reproductive Rights and Equality Now.

Writing for C-FAM’s "Friday Fax" publication, Samantha Singson indicates that the report was "short on criticizing sex selected abortions and long on advocating for legalized abortion."

"Despite the fact that the General Assembly has repeatedly stated that laws on abortion are to be legislated by national governments, the report, entitled In-depth Study on All Forms of Violence against Women, calls for the need for legalized abortion," Singson explained.

The UN report includes "access to safe abortion" along with medical care as the "range of services" women who are victims of violence may need.

Abortion is listed ahead of counseling, shelter, food and water, and education in the list of necessities for victimized women.

The Friday Fax report says the new UN document does not give any reasons why women who are victims of violence need abortions.

Singson writes that the UN report also includes numerous mentions of the phrase "forced pregnancy," which she explains first appeared in a UN document during negotiations to establish the International Criminal Court.

At the time, abortion advocates did not define the phrase but it later came up in a Utah court case in which a woman could not get an abortion.

C-FAM says the Third Committee will be taking action on the Secretary General’s report next month.

The UN has also come under fire this week from a top British pro-life group which is calling on it to prohibit abortions worldwide.

The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, says the report, which also deals with violence against children, should include protecting unborn children from the violence of abortion.

"Today’s UN report urges the prohibition of all violence against children," John Smeaton, SPUC’s national director, said in a press release LifeNews.com obtained. "We urge the UN to include a worldwide prohibition of abortion, the greatest of all violence against young, defenseless human beings."

"The gravest abuse of children is to deprive them of life before they are even born," Smeaton explained.