NEW YORK, August 1, 2002 (C-FAM.org/LSN.ca) – In its Friday fax for this week, the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute is reporting that US Senate support for the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is alarmingly increasing to the point that the controversial UN women’s treaty may become United States law. Ratification requires a two-thirds majority, and informal headcounts in the Senate suggest that CEDAW may be approaching the 67 votes necessary for passage. Informed sources on Capitol Hill have told the Friday Fax that feminists and abortion-rights groups are highly organized and that their members are bombarding senators’ offices with calls in favor of the treaty. These sources also state that this grass-roots campaign shows signs of success. Even some conservative stalwarts are said to be leaning towards ratification, their opinions having been swayed by the overwhelming number of calls their offices have received from pro-CEDAW constituents. Some in Washington believe that conservative groups “have dropped the ball on CEDAW,” and have not effectively mobilized their own members to counter the pro-CEDAW campaign.
In a meeting yesterday, Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) stated that he believes the defeat of CEDAW is one of the Senate’s highest priorities. Nevertheless, Some Republicans, including members of the Bush administration, are looking for ways to adopt reservations to the treaty that would blunt its most radical elements and therefore make it more palatable to conservatives. However, a broad range of pro-family groups, including Focus on the Family, the Family Research Center, Concerned Women for America and United Families International, insist there is no way to make the treaty acceptable. One reason they cite is the radical nature of the CEDAW compliance committee, the group that interprets the document.
Many critics also cringe at the prospect of US delegates submitting reports to a committee that includes representatives from some of the most repressive regimes in the world, including China, where it is still against the law for women to have more than one child. See LifeSite’s July 31 report on this issue https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/jul/02073104.html For more much on CEDAW go to LifeSite’s Search page and enter CEDAW https://www.lifesitenews.com/search/search.html