In the Press...
LifeSiteNews article on Smith-led letter to Sec. Rubio'Republicans urge Rubio to block radical pro-abortion pick for UN Secretary-General''UN Secretary-General nominee Michelle Bachelet, the former president of Chile, is "a pro-abortion zealot" seeking "to override state sovereignty in favor of extreme agendas," GOP lawmakers warned.'By Calvin Freiburger WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — Republican lawmakers are urging U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to veto the nomination of former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet as the United Nations’ (UN’s) next Secretary-General, citing her record as a “pro-abortion zealot.” The Daily Wire obtained the letter, led by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), calling on Rubio to exercise the United States’ power as a permanent member of the UN Security Council against Bachelet, who has also been UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Executive Director of UN Women, because her “resume reveals a pro-abortion zealot intent on using political authority to override state sovereignty in favor of extreme agendas. She has both overtly attacked pro-life laws — including those of the United States — and sought to weaken them through intimidation and coercion.” As previously covered by LifeSiteNews, Bachelet ran for president deeming it “essential” to legalize “voluntary abortion when the health or life of the mother are [allegedly] at risk, the fetus is not viable or in cases of rape” and was responsible for making the morning-after pill available in state-run hospitals. Under her, Chile legalized abortion under those circumstances, though the law would have gone much further by creating a judicial bypass for minors and limiting the rights of conscience of health workers.
The letter to Rubio provides more examples, including her condemnation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade as a “huge blow to women’s human rights,” her declarations at the UN that “restrictive abortion laws and practical barriers pose a threat to human rights,” and her negligence toward human rights abuses in China. By “using her office to attack United States pro-life law,” the lawmakers argue, Bachelet proved she cannot be trusted to affirm America’s “right to enforce pro-life laws and policies, includ[ing] the Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance policy and the executive order Enforcing the Hyde Amendment […] The truth is that killing an unborn child by abortion can never be construed to be a human right. Every person — born and unborn—deserves to have his or her human rights secured and protected.” Bachelet’s nomination notably comes after Chile recently elected conservative Catholic President José Kast and as several other Latin American countries have shifted to the right politically in recent years. The United Nations has long been notorious for pushing a pro-abortion agenda from a pretext of “human rights,” from criticizing nations that ban abortions to attempting to establish an international “right” to abort, all while taking a selective approach to actual human rights violations from offending nations such as China, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. As summarized by Rebecca Oas of the Center for Family & Human Rights, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has a long record of promoting abortion. “Despite the lack of agreement on SRHR [so-called ‘sexual and reproductive health and rights’] terminology, and its inclusion of ‘sexual rights,’ UNFPA frequently includes such language in its reports and promotes its inclusion in negotiated resolutions in U.N. meetings. UNFPA has also supported the promotion of ‘safe abortion,’ to the fullest extent of the law, as a way to prevent ‘unsafe abortion.’” |
