How Amnesty betrayed its members to push abortion

Amnesty International is currently putting enormous energy and resources into a pro-abortion campaign in Ireland, which is extremely one-sided and selective in its presentation of the facts. This campaign was launched despite the fact that the Irish section members of Amnesty International made it clear in the “consultation” of 2005-7 that they did not want the organization to abandon it´s neutral policy on abortion. At the time, Amnesty publicly promised its members it would not be taking part in any abortion campaigns, but would use its strengths in other areas[1]

These days, the executive director claims that section members agreed to a change of direction at an annual general meeting in 2013. However, knowing how the 2005-7 consultation was carried out internationally[2] [3] [4], there is ample reason to be concerned about how well informed AI members and supporters around the country were regarding the two motions presented on the floor at that meeting… Or if they were happy to have this new campaign voted in by 100-200 people as opposed to the thousands of AI members in the Irish section.

“TREATY MONITORING BODIES”…

Amnesty now argues that aborton is a ”human right”[5] and that its current abortion campaign is based on the ”recommendations” of “treaty monitoring bodies” within the UN. However, they neglect to tell people that these ”treaty monitoring bodies”, better described as committees, have NO authority to re-interpret universally recognized human rights documents. The San José Articles document issued from within the UN in 2011 pointed this out very clearly.[6] Abortion is NOT universally recognized as a ”right” in any international human rights document. Any UN committee or treaty body which seeks to push an abortion agenda on a country under the guise of ”reproductive rights” is acting outside its mandate, given that UN policy says that every state is sovereign when it comes to legislating for abortion.[7]

The executive director also argues that there is something ”fundamentally wrong” with the notion that abortion is not a human right! In that case, Amnesty must have been wrong from 1961 until 2005/7, and the UN (excluding a few of its committees and sub-committees) must also be wrong.”Reproductive rights” do not include abortion, for very good reason. Abortion is not about reproduction. It is about destruction.

As late as 2005-7 Amnesty recognized that abortion was not a ”human right” in their internal discussion documents on Sexual and Reproductive Rights in February 2005 which included quotations from the Beijing and Cairo documents[8] [9] [10] and in their Sexual and Reproductive Rights: Some Frequently Asked Questions Paper in 2007[11]. To date, every attempt to have abortion recognized as a ”human right” has been refuted at UN level, up to and including September 2015[12] [13], when the goals for sustainable development were drawn up. The final document, “Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” encompasses 17 universal goals applicable to all countries.[14] Abortion as a ”human right” is not one of them! In fact, the goals refer back to previous agreements which did not establish any rights with regard to abortion.[15] [16]

“MY BODY, MY RIGHTS”…

Neither is abortion a ”My Body, My Rights” issue. The catch-phrase currently being used by Amnesty is a lie circulating since the sixties which is based on a scientific fallacy[17] and a faulty philosophical worldview. So is the myth that abortion is health care. It is not health care.[18] [19]Abortion does not cure. It is inherently violent. It maims and kills, and often leaves a trail of pain in its wake.

Amnesty International should be showing people what abortion looks like, describing the methods used and the unborn children being discarded as “waste”[20] [21] [22]. It should be educating people about:

the possible psychological and physical consequences of abortion on women
the 80% of women who say they were badly informed,
the 64% of women who experienced pressure, force and threats of abandonment
the women who are at 69% greater risk of miscarriages and premature births as a result of abortion,
the women who are now in 4-6 times greater danger of suicide.
This well documented research is easy to locate.[23] [24] [25] [26] [27] Some of the research is being carried out by pro-choice atheists[28] – lest Amnesty claims ”religious extremism” and ”institutional violence” as it did when uniting with other NGO´s on International Women´s Day 2015…[29]

LEGAL OBLIGATION…

As recently as June 2015, Amnesty International was arguing at the UN that the right to life only begins at birth[30]. In fact, Amnesty has an legal obligation to defend children, before and after birth, according to the internationally recognized Convention on Children´s Rights[31] and related documents. Let Amnesty International defend the children who survive abortions and are left to die (60 in the UK last year alone, as well as those who were left to die or were killed in Sweden, France,[32] [33]USA and China after surviving abortions…) sometimes ten hours later. Children who are capable of feeling pain at 20 weeks[34] [35], and arguably feeling some form of pain at 8-12 weeks. But no, Amnesty prefers to use precious resources arguing that the right to life only starts at birth[36] attempting to limit freedom of conscience, [37] [38] and running international campaigns which ignore qualified medical opinion and advocate the abortion of children at 20 weeks gestation![39] Let Amnesty International start advocating for the children being aborted when they feel pain as they are being torn asunder, burned with salt solution, poisoned, suffocated… Let them stop promoting the violent destruction of prenatal lives under the pretence that continuing a pregnancy is ”cruel and degrading treatment”!

Let AI start advocating for the prosecution of abortionists like the psychopathic GOSNELL[40] and organizations like PLANNED PARENTHOOD, exposed for fraud, for giving false information, withholding information and not reporting incest, human trafficking and coercion, and currently being exposed for selling intact body parts of second and third trimester aborted children – for profit! [41] [42] [43]Or Marie Stopes and other organizations and individuals who are flagrantly breaching good medical practise resulting in serious injury and death. [43A] Let them advocate against the huge numbers of forced abortions, sterilizations and gendercide in China, India, Vietnam, Eastern Europe (200 million!)…[44] [45] [46] Let the world media stop aiding and abetting Amnesty by refusing to call the organization to account and by sidelining and ignoring these horrific injustices.

Furthermore, let Amnesty be truthful instead of shaming Ireland with flagrant lies! Contrary to what one might be led to believe from the AI campaign, Irish prisons are NOT full of post-abortive women!

No woman has ever been sent to prison in Ireland for having an abortion. Many write and speak regularly about their experiences in the national media without fear of prosecution, including prime time news programmes.[47] [48]Let AI simply call on the Irish government to remove the legislation recommending imprisonment as they did with the legislation on the death penalty years ago. As for the women who travel outside the country for abortions, let Amnesty ask these women WHY they feel ”forced” to travel or why they see abortion as their only option. If they seriously listened to post-abortive women, they would quickly learn that they are often not fully informed, experience some form of coercion, have no viable alternatives and are not given moral and financial support, not even from the fathers of their children! [49]Amnesty should be seeking to address these injustices…

SCANDALOUS PRETENCE…

Let Amnesty also stop the scandalous pretence that abortion is health care, and that Ireland is somehow deficient.

Ireland consistently topped WHO and UN lists for the high quallity of its maternal health care – without abortion.[50] A 40 year study comparing Ireland and the UK showed that Irish women have less mental health problems, less premature births and give birth to fewer children with handicaps, as compared with women in the UK where abortion is widely available.[51] Let Amnesty stop conflating abortion and necessary life-saving medical interventions. Good medical practise allows doctors to intervene when two lives are at stake (mother and baby), even if it means endangering one life. The aim here is always to save both lives, if possible. The aim of abortion is always to destroy one life, even when s/he is in no medical danger.[52]Amnesty also defends and promotes abortion as a “solution” to rape or incest! And for children diagnosed with life-limiting conditions. Why should Amnesty presume that abortion is the solution? Let the organization listen to the 80% of women who regret their abortions after rape, including those who say that their abortion was like a second rape or that they got over the rape, but not the abortion. In fact, women who suffer rape and refuse abortion generally do not see the rapist in their children. They see a child of their own flesh and blood. Many speak of how their child helped them survive, brought them healing and hope, and was a ray of light in a dark and desperate situation. They consider that the decision to keep their child was a victory over the violence of the rapist.[53] [54]

Victims of incest, prostitution and human trafficking regularly report that their abortion was used to cover the crimes committed against them, and even that they were led to abortion clinics by their abusers. [55] [56]This flies in the face of any campaign to fight violence against women! Likewise, aborting a child with a life-limiting condition robs parents of precious time with their child, a dignified place in their family and a decent burial. [57]Abortion is discriminatory and offers nothing but degradation, pain, trauma and violence in already difficult situations. Accepting abortion on these terms eventually makes abortion ”acceptable” in other circumstances. Let Amnesty advocate for better support for families and the widespread availability of perninatal hospice care for children with life-limiting conditions. Let them advocate to stop the abuse and exploitation of girls and women and to criminalize abusers instead of running campaign to protect pimps, brothel owners and ”clients”! [58]

Destroying an innocent developing human life is never an answer to a crisis.

And advocating the killing of innocent victims of rape while advocating for the elimination of the death penalty for the rapist is an utter nonsense, and a huge injustice, on the part of Amnesty. Women and their innocent, unborn children deserve much better.

A FINAL THOUGHT…

Amnesty and others would claim that abortion is a matter of ”choice”. We do not give people a choice when it comes to issues like smoking in public places, drinking-driving, wearing seat-belts, stealing, slander and libel, selling hardcore drugs, raping or killing. We do not agree to “choices” in such circumstances because such things are a danger to safety, health and human dignity. I would argue that the same may be said with regard to abortion.

Maria Forrestal is a pro-life activist. She is engaged in ministry amongst post-abortive women and men. She is vegetarian and was a very active member of Amnesty International from 1984 – 2007. An Irish woman, she currently lives in Scandinavia where abortion is available from 12-18 weeks, depending on where one lives (eg. the limit is 16 weeks on the Faroes, 18 weeks in Sweden, 12 weeks in Denmark but also allowing for later abortions on application).