SPUC has slammed Amnesty International’s updated policy statement on abortion, saying that it shows a “total disregard for the human rights of unborn children”.
SPUC’s Daniel Frampton said: “Amnesty International’s hypocrisy is glaring. Calling itself an organisation that stands up for ‘humanity and human rights’, it disgraces itself by refusing to recognise the humanity and human rights of unborn babies.”
Pro-abortion Amnesty International has called for universal access to “safe” abortion, as well as the decriminalization of abortion, in an update of its policy, calling it “essential to protect human rights”.
Dr Frampton continued: “Amnesty International’s updated policy is shocking and extreme, stating ‘that anyone who can become pregnant has the right to an abortion’. It is incredible that this so-called human rights organisation should view access ‘to safe abortion as an essential component of a fair and equal society’, and something that 'is integral to realizing the full range of human rights’.”
Amnesty International losing credibility
Dr Frampton said: "Amnesty International loses all creditability as a human rights organisation when it declares that abortion is a human right that prevents death. Abortion, by definition, involves the death of at least one human being.
“Amnesty International claims that its updated policy 'respects human rights, autonomy, and dignity’. But where is its respect for the autonomy and dignity of the child in the womb?”
"A betrayal of its founding principles and of the unborn"
Founded in 1961, Amnesty International had an income of £270 million in 2018, mostly through private donations.
In an article titled “The Forgotten Prisoners”, Amnesty founder Peter Benenson described his “disgust” at the authoritarian regime of António de Oliveira Salaz for jailing two Portuguese students in 1960 for having “drunk a toast to liberty”.
Dr Frampton said: “The dreadful irony here is that Amnesty International’s updated policy has made the unborn prisoners of the abortion industry. Founded to defend and give a voice to people whose liberty and right to life were unjustly threatened, Amnesty International has now forgotten the fundamental rights of the unborn to life and liberty.”
Amnesty International’s updated policy in full
Amnesty International’s updated policy, endorsed by the International Federation of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (FIGO), recognises and calls for the following:
- Recognizes that anyone who can become pregnant has the right to an abortion
- Calls for universal access to safe abortion, as early as possible and as late as necessary, and for provision of post-abortion care and evidence-based abortion-related information
- Recognizes that decisions around pregnancy and abortion directly impact the full spectrum of human rights
- Calls for removing abortion from criminal and other punitive laws and policies, and to stop punishing women, girls and all pregnant people, healthcare providers and others for obtaining, assisting with, or providing abortion services
- Calls for reforming laws and policies that limit abortion access to specific circumstances
- Confirms that human rights protections start at birth, in line with international law
- Calls on states to fulfil economic and social rights by promoting policies that empower pregnant people to make free decisions about their reproductive lives – including through access to health care, social security and the means to obtain an adequate standard of living.