35 Countries Sign Declaration Saying “There is No Right to Abortion”

International   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Dec 17, 2020   |   1:20PM   |   Washington, DC

Vice President Mike Pence led a pro-life event at the White House yesterday where he announced two major pro-life developments on the domestic front — the Trump administration denying $200 million to California for forcing Christians to fund abortions, and a lawsuit against the University of Vermont for forcing a nurse to kill a baby in an abortion.

But Pence also announced an international pro-life development as well: more countries signing a declaration saying there is no right to kill an unborn child in an abortion.

The United States has put together an international coalition of nations signing the Geneva Consensus Declaration. It says there is no right to abortion and criticizes the United Nations for attempting to promote such a right. The declaration emphasizes the importance of human rights and medical care for women and children. It encourages countries to work to achieve “better health for women, the preservation of human life and the strengthening of family as the foundational unit of society.”

By signing the declaration, the United States and other countries sent a clear statement to the UN that they will not tolerate its abortion advocacy.

“Abortion rights advocacy by some governments, world health and other international bodies is detracting attention and resources from women’s health needs on which there is widespread agreement,” the declaration states.

Yesterday, Pence announced the addition of the countries of Georgia, Qatar and Paraguay to the Geneva Consensus Declaration. Now 35 countries representing 1.6 billion people have signed the document, which calls for a focus on consensus women’s health issues rather than on forcing countries to adopt an abortion agenda.

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Christian Medical Association Director of Federal Government Relations Jonathan Imbody told LifeNews.com he was delighted by the additional countries signing the document. He praised the work of HHS’s Special Representative for Global Women’s Health Valerie Huber in coordinating the work that has resulted in the Declaration.

“Valerie and her colleagues including Garrett Grigsby and others at HHS, and Secretary Mike Pompeo and colleagues at the U.S. Department of State, have accomplished one of the most significant international life-affirming successes for women’s health and the sanctity of life in recent history. By making this Declaration an official international document, their work ensures that this landmark, life-honoring statement of principle endures beyond the shifting winds of administrations.”

The declaration comes after years of the Trump administration and other countries’ leaders urging the UN to stop promoting abortions.

In September, United States and Vatican representatives criticized the inclusion of language promoting “sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights,” including abortions, in a UN COVID-19 response resolution.

However, according to The Hill, “The UN has rejected those efforts, leading the U.S. to launch a coalition of 32 countries that have signed the declaration, including the five that co-sponsored it: Brazil, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, and Uganda.”

The Trump administration has been strong in its stance against abortion at the UN.

“My administration is advancing religious liberty, opportunity for women, the decriminalization of homosexuality, combating human trafficking, and protecting unborn children,” Trump told the UN General Assembly in September. “America will always be a leader in human rights.”

In August, U.S. Ambassador Andrew Bremberg also slammed the international agency for “perverting” human rights by advocating for the killing of unborn babies in abortions.

Bremberg criticized the UN for being “notably quiet” on the horrific reports of human rights abuses in China, including forced abortions through all nine months of pregnancy, infanticide and the placement of ethnic minorities in concentration camps.

Since 2017, Trump has defunded the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) of tens of millions of U.S. tax dollars because it pushes abortions on other countries and has worked with China for decades to implement its oppressive population control policies. Under the pro-abortion Obama administration, U.S. taxpayers gave more than $300 million to UNFPA.