This is fantastic news–and something that the folks over at C-Fam have been working towards for years. From LifeSiteNews:
The United States, in a coalition of 32 countries representing more than 1.6 billion people, today issued a declaration at the United Nations that there is “no international right to abortion.”
“On Thursday, October 22, Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and HHS Secretary Alex Azar participated in the virtual signing of the Geneva Consensus Declaration, a historic document that further strengthens an ongoing coalition to achieve better health for women, the preservation of human life, support for the family as foundational to a healthy society, and the protection of national sovereignty in global politics,” a press release from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reads.
Along with the United States the document was co-sponsored and signed by 32 countries including Brazil, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, and Uganda.
The opening words of the declaration explain its purpose as including expressing “the essential priority of protecting the right to life” and promoting “strength of the family and of a successful and flourishing society.”
Point 3 of the declaration states that the ministers and high representatives of Governments “[r]eaffirm the inherent ‘dignity and worth of the human person,’ that ‘every human being has the inherent right to life,’ and the commitment ‘to enable women to go safely through pregnancy and childbirth and provide couples with the best chance of having a healthy infant.’”
Point 4 of the declaration states that the signatories “[e]mphasize that ‘in no case should abortion be promoted as a method of family planning’ and that ‘any measures or changes related to abortion within the health system can only be determined at the national or local level according to the national legislative process.’”
The declaration further reaffirms that “‘the child … needs special safeguards and care … before as well as after birth’ and ‘special measures of protection and assistance should be taken on behalf of all children,’ based on the principle of the best interest of the child.”
If those words are familiar, it is because they are taken directly from the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child. This Declaration will be an essential tool in combatting abortion activists at the international level in the years ahead. More:
Secretary Azar said that the declaration is the administration putting down “a clear marker” in opposition to “a radical agenda” often pursued by U.N. agencies.
“The Declaration is much more than a statement of beliefs — it is a critical and useful tool to defend these principles across all United Nations bodies and at every multilateral setting, using language previously agreed to by member states of those bodies,” the HHS Secretary said. “Without apology, we affirm that governments have the sovereign right to make their own laws to protect innocent life and write their regulations on abortion. The stakes are too high to permit radical, divisive agendas to hinder the ability of women in countries at all stages of development to attain better health.”
If you’re interested in learning more about the pro-life work the Trump Administration has done at an international level, you can check out my interview with Austin Ruse of C-Fam, who has worked on pro-life and pro-family policy at the United Nations for decades, here:
