Press Conference to Present Unborn Child Petition
Representatives of United Families International, including President Beverly Rice, arrived in New York on Monday night with a busy agenda and a list of objectives to accomplish:
1. Celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR) by the UN General Assembly.
2. Present the UN General Assembly with a petition containing over 340,000 names in favor of the rights of the unborn and in defense of the family.
3. Participate in meetings with several UN Ambassadors from around the world.
It was on December 10, 1948 that the UN General Assembly adopted the UNDHR. The UNDHR’s intention was to protect the right to life, liberty and safety of all groups of people, as well as recognize the importance of societies’ most treasured unit…the family, in enabling those rights. United Families International agrees that each individual, born or unborn has the right to life. We also agree that the family is the foundation of society. And, that the principles set forth in The UNDHR of justice, fairness and equality means respect for life, family, cultures and religion. And, that these rights come not from government or nations, but from a higher source and are taught by the good families of the world.
Unfortunately for the Pro-Life movement, two International Pro-Abortion groups, International Planned Parenthood Federation and Marie Stopes International, planned their own celebration of the UNDHR: A presentation of a petition that demands that the right to an abortion be given to all people around the world. This pro-abortion petition was signed by a mere 651 individuals.
UFI, along with a Pro-Family Pro-Life coalition including the Pro-Life Federation of Poland, the Institute of Family Policy of Spain, Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, and US-based Concerned Women for America countered the petition with their own containing the names of more than 340,000 Pro-Life supporters.
The Pro-Life Pro-Family group shared at a press conference “the petition presented today urged States to recall the original words — and understanding — of the Universal Declaration. It was organized around six points: the right to life (article 16); the right of men and women alone to marry and found a family (article 16); the concept of family as the fundamental unit of society (article 16); the entitlement of motherhood and childhood to special care and assistance (article 25); and the prior right of parents to educate their children (article 26).”
They went on to say that the petition, launched 60 days ago in response to another drive calling for the recognition of abortion in United Nations documents, had gathered more than 500,000 signatures from 168 countries thus far. Some 300,000 had been added since last Friday and the goal was to have 1 million names by the convening of the next General Assembly session, at which time the petitioners would request that it take action.”
Said UFI President Beverly Rice, “the Declaration’s reference to a family’s entitlement to State protection acknowledged it as the building block of any successful society. It also meant that Member States should support the family through policies that would protect it. United Families International stands with others in asserting that those principles remained valid and relevant, and that they should not be reinterpreted. We will not be deterred from fighting to defend the Declaration and its original intent.”
UFI and the coalition that met with UN Ambassadors from the Philippines, Fiji, Uganda and the US missions. UFI separately met with Belize, the Czech Republic and the Republic of Iran.