Politics
Friday May 11, 2007
Amnesty International Publicly Admits New Policy to Lobby for Abortion
TODAY'S HEADLINES
E-MAIL
PRINT
By Gudrun Schultz
LONDON, United Kingdom, May 11, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Amnesty International has finally admitted it has adopted a new policy supporting abortion.
After pro-life groups exposed the organization's secret adoption of a pro-abortion position last week, AI officials admitted Wednesday that Amnesty would begin lobbying for abortion to be decriminalized globally.
Widney Brown, senior policy and campaigns director, told Reuters that the board of AI agreed on the policy change last month.
The human rights lobby group had previously held a position of neutrality on abortion.
While the agency has said they are not supporting abortion as a human right but simply addressing "particular circumstances" surrounding rape situations or endangerment to women's health, in fact the policy calls for a moratorium on all criminal penalties for abortion.
"'Decriminalization' means the removal of all criminal penalties (including imprisonment, fines, and other punishments) against those seeking, obtaining, providing information about, or carrying out abortions," the document states.
Brown denied that Amnesty had attempted to keep the new policy a secret. "There's simply no reason for us to 'publicize' policy issues," she said.
In a document outlining the new policy to members, which was buried on a members-only, restricted-content page of AI's US website, the agent warned, "It is very important to be aware of the following: This policy will not be made public at this time. As the IEC [Amnesty International's International Executive Committee] has written to all sections, "There is to be no proactive external publication of the policy position or of the fact of its adoption issued. This means no section or structure is to issue a press release or public statement or external communication of any kind on the policy decision."
Multiple international organizations objected to the agency's proposal to begin championing abortion rights after it was first publicized two years ago.
See AI internal document outlining new abortion policy:
http://www.consistent-life.org/aiabortiondocs.pdf
See previous LifeSiteNews coverage:
Amnesty International Adopts Secret Pro-Abortion Policy, "Not to be made public"
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/may/07050303.html
Back to TopLatest Headlines
- "Manhattan Declaration" Embodies U.S. Christian Pushback against Abortion, Same-Sex "Marriage"
- Hoffman Loses Final Tally of NY-23 Race; Alleges ACORN Tampering and Fraud
- Abortion Activist Judge Hamilton Confirmed with Help of Ten Republican Senators
- CDC Reverses Gardasil Vaccine Requirement for Immigrants
- Germany Faces Economic Downturn with Plummeting Birth Rate and Aging Population
- CCHD in Archdiocese of Chicago Says it is Working to Fix Problems
- Rejection of Washington DC Marriage Referendum Challenged With Legal Suit
- Obama-Supporting Homosexual Activist to Out Sexually Involved Priests Unless they Support Gay 'Marriage
- Austrian Catholic Bishops Issue Bland Response to Govt's Homosexual Partnership Bill
- Interim Report on Catholic Sex-Abuse Says "Homosexual Identity" Not a Predictor of Sex Abuse
- LSN NewsBytes - US Health Care Reform
- LSN NewsBytes - Climate Change/Global Warming
- Pro-Abortion Lawmakers Shower Praise on Senate Bill's Phony Abortion Compromise
- 59 Bishops Contributed Financially to Maine Bishop's Effort to Oppose Maine Same-Sex "Marriage" Law
Most Read this Week
- Largest U.S. Homosexual Publisher Shuts Down, Closing Major Gay Newspapers
- Italian Mayors Order Crufixes Put in Classrooms in Revolt against European Court Ruling
- EWTN's Arroyo Hosts Reform CCHD Reps Who Reveal Shocking Evidence Against USCCB Anti-Poverty Arm
- Nat'l Organization for Marriage Responds to Miss California "Sex Tape" Scandal
- Obama Evades Questioning on Stupak Amendment in FOX Interview
- French Judge Finds Hospital Guilty of "Unreasonable Obstinacy" in Saving Newborn's Life
- EU Leaders to Choose President today in Secret "Soviet Style" Meetings
- Hoffman "Unconcedes" Battle for NY-23: Recount Provides Hope for "Miracle" Victory
- CCHD Responds to Reform Movement
- White House Advisor Indicates Obama Will Work to Abolish Pro-Life Health Amendment
MORE NEWS: 
LifeSiteNews.com Home Page Last 10 Days Archives Special Reports
Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.