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WASHINGTON, November 19, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Cherie Booth, wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair threw protocol to the wind as she slammed America only one day before President Bush was to visit Britain.  Speaking at Georgetown University in Washington on Nov. 17, Booth slammed the Bush administration for the U.S. withdrawal from the International Criminal Court.  Booth spoke at the left-leaning Jesuit university as part of a panel marking the 40th anniversary of “Pacem in Terris” (“Peace on Earth”), Pope John XXIII’s encyclical on world peace.

However, Booth demonstrated her ignorance of the ICC stating, “It seems inconceivable that a state committed to the rule of law, such as the US, would refuse to investigate and prosecute its nationals should there be reliable evidence that they had been involved in international crimes.”  In fact, refusal to participate in the ICC does not mean the U.S. will refuse to investigate and prosecute its nationals involved in international crimes, but that it will not turn over that investigation and prosecution to an unaccountable international body with very questionable political agendas.

Pro-lifers internationally have expressed strong reservations about the ICC particularly due to its unaccountable nature and the fact that international feminist organizations have looked to the ICC to enforce the “right” to abortion worldwide.  One of the “crimes” that would fall under the court’s jurisdiction is “enforced pregnancy” which, has been legally defined in the United States as refusing to allow abortion.  The current ICC definition excludes that definition but there are concerns that such definitions are open to amendment.  See coverage from the Independent:  https://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/story.jsp?story=465078   See related LifeSite coverage:  International Criminal Court Undermines Canadian Rights https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2000/sep/000914a.html