Illinois Right to Life Committee
Will UNICEF Stop Promoting Abortion?
Given the latest news, absolutely not!
2009 Update on UNICEF Activities May 13, 2009 UNICEF Promotes Abortion Worldwide, but Continues to Deny It (PRI) NEW YORK, NY, April 23, 2009 (C-FAM) While Dominican Republic lawmakers were debating the merits of adopting a new constitution that protects human life "from conception until death," Nils Kastberg, UNICEF's regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean, interjected himself, calling on Dominican legislators to consider liberalizing abortion so women would not be forced into "unsafe procedures." Rather than bowing to such pressure from UNICEF and pro-abortion non-governmental organizations, members of the bicameral constitutional assembly voted 167-32 to approve the proposed charter, including Article 30, which states, "The right to life is inviolable from conception to death." Source: UNICEF Calls for Legal Abortion in Dominican Republic
2007 Update on UNICEF Activities (NEW YORK — C-FAM) The latest report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has prioritized women’s rights over child protection and survival. UNICEF’s “State of the World’s Children Report 2007” tells states that the achievement of “gender equality” and promotion of women’s rights are necessary for the well-being of children. Complete article 2006 Update on UNICEF Activities (NEW YORK — C-FAM) The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has attempted to intervene in a national debate in Nicaragua over new legislation that would ban abortion for any reason. Complete article
2005 Update on UNICEF Activities President Bush has nominated a new leader for UNICEF. Ann Veneman will take over at UNICEF in May 2005. Veneman has already stated her intention to focus UNICEF on addressing hunger and disease issues. Asked by a reporter about "reproductive health" issues, she responded: "I don't believe that these issues are relevant to the missions of UNICEF." Until May, you can anticipate that UNICEF will continue pushing "reproductive health" (namely, abortion and contraceptives) hard. New UNICEF Head Says Abortion Issues "Irrelevant" to Group's Mission
2004 Update on UNICEF Activities In 2004, criticism of UNICEFcontinued because of the agency's promotion of abortion around the world. In 2003, IRLC reported on how UNICEF promotes abortion while seeking funds through children who are trick or treating for Halloween. Those 2003 articles appear below, but here are the 2004 updates on UNICEF activities:Medical Journal Slams UNICEF for
Putting Children 'Rights' Pro-Life Group Condemns UNICEF Halloween Fundraiser Over Abortion UNICEF Demands Abortion for Underage Girls without Parents Knowledge
Trick or Treat Continues at UNICEF Before Halloween, Mary Anne Hackett, president of Illlinois Right to Life Committee, wrote about UNICEF’s trick or treat fundraising. She pointed out that “UNICEF actively promotes abortion and sexual rights for children.” A response from Lisa Szarkowski, Managing Director, Public Relations, U.S. Fund for UNICEF, completely denied these charges. However, that response conveniently ignored the evidence presented by Mary Anne, including a quote from a UNICEF manual, and the Vatican’s 1996 decision (never rescinded) to withdraw support because of UNICEF’s promotion of abortion and contraception. A 2003 report (95 pages with many footnotes) from Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute gives details showing that, under the guise of AIDS prevention, UNICEF financially supports a South African organization called loveLife that promotes “complete sexual autonomy for adolescents.” The web site of loveLife has almost pornographic details to promote sexual activity among children at any age. When questions were raised in a letter from the U.S. Department of State about the UNICEF tie to loveLife, UNICEF’s response came from Alejandro Palacios, UNICEF Senior Advisor, who defended the association with loveLife, citing their important role in the fight against AIDS. No offer was made to even investigate any potential abuses that might have occurred in loveLife's approach to fight AIDS. One can only conclude that UNICEF’s denial of support for and promotion of abortion and sexual rights for children is based on semantics and distortions. The evidence indicates that UNICEF contracts with other organizations, such as loveLife, under its goal of AIDS prevention. UNICEF makes no effort to prevent these organizations from promoting unrestricted sexual activity, "safe sex" and abortion with funds they receive from UNICEF. In the name of AIDS prevention, a UNICEF-funded sex education manual describes a variety of ways to obtain sexual pleasure, and specifies that reproductive health includes counseling on sexuality, pregnancy, methods of contraception, abortion, infertility, infections and disease. The manual makes no reference to abstinence because UNICEF simply does not believe in it. UNICEF funds the distribution of this manual in Mexico, El Salvador, and other Latin American nations. Through distribution of this UNICEF-funded manual, contracted organizations and governments are directly promoting unrestricted sexual activity, "safe sex" and abortion. How do these facts align with UNICEF’s rebuttal that it “does not spend a penny on abortion or abortion-related activities”? No, UNICEF does not spend a penny; rather, they spend millions of dollars, and keep trying to cover it up. Some people might call that lying through your teeth. Bill Beckman The New UNICEF - What's in a Name As Halloween approaches, children will be bringing home their bright orange boxes to collect money to help poor children as they go “trick or treating. They will be told that it only takes pennies to change kids’ lives. Many schools have been deceived by the propaganda from UNICEF to publicize this project and honestly believe they are encouraging children to help other children. In truth, I believe parents would be scandalized to know that UNICEF actively promotes abortion and sexual rights for children and these programs are fueled by donations from children on Halloween. UNICEF was founded in 1946 to help starving children after World War II. Over the past couple of decades, UNICEF has changed direction promoting population control and children’s sexual and reproductive rights (read that abortion and contraception), including promotion of so-called emergency contraception (early abortion) for adolescents and children as young as 10 years of age. According to their controversial manual issued in conjunction with the World Health Organization (WHO), Reproductive Health in Refugee Stations: . . . “patients access to services should not be contingent on social or cultural backgrounds nor on age, sexual orientation or parental consent.” In 1996, the Vatican withdrew it symbolic contribution to UNICEF, stating as the reason its promotion of abortion and contraception. It has not been reinstated. Unfortunately, with its new direction, UNICEF has abandoned its original mandate to provide basic health care and education services to the poorest children of the world. UNICEF has moved far beyond its original purpose of protecting and defending children to actively assisting in the destruction of millions of tiny lives. It is a cynical program, indeed, that uses children to prevent the birth of other children. Mary Anne Hackett, President
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