Amnesty's fall
FREE Catholic Classes
The moral of the story: Abortion is the opposite of King Midas. It corrupts everything it touches.
Amnesty International was founded in the early 1960s by a Catholic convert, Peter Benenson. Like its passionate, eclectic founder, the organization led with its heart and followed an unpredictable trajectory. Some have called it too anti-establishment. Others have called it too politically correct. But there's no denying Amnesty's success.
If the pen is mightier than the sword, then Amnesty International organized a formidable army in the 1970s and 1980s. It disseminated the names of prisoners of conscience and the addresses of their captors. Those were the targets. Then it mobilized professional people, shut-ins, college students and stay-at-home moms - anybody they could find - to write letters.
It was a unique kind of activist organization. You didn't just become a benefactor to Amnesty International; you became a direct participant in the effort to free prisoners of conscience.
But from the 1990s to today, that mission shifted. It may have started with the rock concerts in the late 1980s. As Amnesty raised more money, it began to look less like a scrappy street fighter for the little guy and more like the bloated international corporations in the grievance business.

And, as U.N. watcher Austin Ruse told the National Catholic Register, the organization also began unofficially favoring the idea that the right to life isn't a human right, and that the right to kill unborn children is.
In April, that stance became official.
Amnesty International became a formal abortion promoter, advocating for the right to kill unborn children - not just in cases where the mother had been the victim of rape, but in cases where the mother's health or life were in danger. Legally, of course, that means they promote any abortion for any reason - because pregnancy is always related to the health and future life of the mother.
Last week, the National Catholic Register featured an exclusive interview with Cardinal Renato Martino calling on Catholics to pull support from Amnesty International now that it has become an opponent of the fundamental human right, the right to life.
A follow-up press release from Cardinal Martino's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace received worldwide press attention along with the Register. Amnesty International was quick to respond.
To the organization's great shame, Kate Gilmore decided not to address the real concerns former supporters had, but to obfuscate the issue instead. Gilmore is the executive deputy secretary general of Amnesty International.
"Amnesty International's position is not for abortion as a right but for women's human rights to be free of fear, threat and coercion as they manage all consequences of rape and other grave human rights violations," she said.
Her words flatly misstate Amnesty International's policy that, as quoted on the organization's website, isn't limited to rape.
"Women must have access to safe and legal abortion services where continuation of pregnancy poses a risk to their life or grave risk to their health," it says, using the loophole language that allows abortion at any time for any reason.
Newspapers like the UK's Daily Mail repeated the misinformation from Amnesty International's press release without correcting it. But even readers who were thus misinformed reacted negatively to Amnesty's rebirth as an abortion activist group.
"So rape victims in Darfur are stoned and the best solution that Amnesty can offer is abortion?!" wrote one London reader of the Daily Mail. "Why is it that the only solution offered to women who are poor, abused or stigmatized, if pregnant outside of marriage, is to end the life of their baby? I thought we were supposed to be liberated."
Amnesty tried to argue that opposition to abortion is "theological." They know better. The right to life is a universally recognized human right - and our understanding of unborn life is no longer what it was in the Middle Ages. We all have children, nephews or nieces whose first photos were taken in utero. There is no longer any doubt about what abortion is: killing.
That's why abortion is King Midas in reverse. It corrupts everything it touches.
In order to support abortion, its advocates must first lie to themselves. Once committed to a lie, they will have a hard time telling the truth to the rest of us.
Write to Amnesty International and tell them to have mercy on those who are being unfairly denied their rights: the unborn. Find links to the appropriate addresses at: http://web.amnesty.org/links.
Contact
National Catholic Register
http://www.ncregister.com
,
- ,
Keywords
FREE Catholic Classes Pick a class, you can learn anything
More Catholic PRWire
Showing 1 - 50 of 4,716
A Recession Antidote
Randy Hain
Monaco & The Vatican: Monaco's Grace Kelly Exhibit to Rome--A Review of Monegasque-Holy See Diplomatic History
Dna. Maria St. Catherine Sharpe, t.o.s.m., T.O.SS.T.
The Why of Jesus' Death: A Pauline Perspective
Jerom Paul
A Royal Betrayal: Catholic Monaco Liberalizes Abortion
Dna. Maria St.Catherine De Grace Sharpe, t.o.s.m., T.O.SS.T.
Embrace every moment as sacred time
Mary Regina Morrell
My Dad
JoMarie Grinkiewicz
Letting go is simple wisdom with divine potential
Mary Regina Morrell
Father Lombardi's Address on Catholic Media
Catholic Online
Pope's Words to Pontifical Latin American College
Catholic Online
Prelate: Genetics Needs a Conscience
Catholic Online
State Aid for Catholic Schools: Help or Hindrance?
Catholic Online
Scorsese Planning Movie on Japanese Martyrs
Catholic Online
2 Nuns Kidnapped in Kenya Set Free
Catholic Online
Holy See-Israel Negotiation Moves Forward
Catholic Online
Franchising to Evangelize
Catholic Online
Catholics Decry Anti-Christianity in Israel
Catholic Online
Pope and Gordon Brown Meet About Development Aid
Catholic Online
Pontiff Backs Latin America's Continental Mission
Catholic Online
Cardinal Warns Against Anti-Catholic Education
Catholic Online
Full Circle
Robert Gieb
Three words to a deeper faith
Paul Sposite
Relections for Lent 2009
chris anthony
Wisdom lies beyond the surface of life
Mary Regina Morrell
World Food Program Director on Lent
Catholic Online
Moral Clarity
DAN SHEA
Pope's Lenten Message for 2009
Catholic Online
A Prayer for Monaco: Remembering the Faith Legacy of Prince Rainier III & Princess Grace and Contemplating the Moral Challenges of Prince Albert II
Dna. Maria St. Catherine Sharpe
Keeping a Lid on Permissiveness
Sally Connolly
Glimpse of Me
Sarah Reinhard
The 3 stages of life
Michele Szekely
Sex and the Married Woman
Cheryl Dickow
A Catholic Woman Returns to the Church
Cheryl Dickow
Modernity & Morality
Dan Shea
Just a Minute
Sarah Reinhard
Catholic identity ... triumphant reemergence!
Hugh McNichol
Edging God Out
Paul Sposite
Burying a St. Joseph Statue
Cheryl Dickow
George Bush Speaks on Papal Visit
Catholic Online
Sometimes moving forward means moving the canoe
Mary Regina Morrell
Action Changes Things: Teaching our Kids about Community Service
Lisa Hendey
To all our readers,
Please don't scroll past this. We interrupt your reading to humbly ask you to defend Catholic Online School's independence. 98% of our readers don't give; they look the other way. If you are an exceptional reader who has already donated, we sincerely thank you. If you donate just $10.00, or whatever you can, Catholic Online School could keep thriving for years. Most people donate because Catholic Online School is useful. If Catholic Online School has given you $10.00 worth of knowledge this year, take a minute to donate. Show the world that access to Catholic education matters to you. Thank you.Help Now >
Easter... A Way of Life
Paul Spoisite
Papal initiative...peace and harmony!
Hugh McNichol
Proclaim the mysteries of the Resurrection!
Hugh McNichol
Jerusalem Patriarch's Easter Message
Catholic Online
Good Friday Sermon of Father Cantalamessa
Catholic Online
Papal Address at the End of the Way of the Cross
Catholic Online
Cardinal Zen's Meditations for Via Crucis
Catholic Online
Interview With Vatican Aide on Jewish-Catholic Relations
Catholic Online
Pope Benedict XVI On the Easter Triduum
Catholic Online
Holy Saturday...anticipation!
Hugh McNichol

By the Grace of God, with the help of Montana Ranch and Cattle, Catholic Online School has become one of the fastest-growing, online K-Adult schools in the world. The school now has over 915,000 student enrollments from 193 countries. Click to Save 25% Now >
Join the Movement
When you sign up below, you don't just join an email list - you're joining an entire movement for Free world class Catholic education.
-
-
Mysteries of the Rosary
-
St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr
-
Saint of the Day for Tuesday, Aug 9th, 2022
-
St. Edith Stein
-
Popular Saints
-
Bible
-
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
-
Prayer of the Day for Tuesday, Aug 9
-
Patron Saints A-Z
-
The Apostles' Creed
Fill your Freezer with 'The Greatest Meat on Earth' during this special event!
-
St. Dominic Invites us to Answer the Question, Who Is Jesus Christ to Me?
-
Fill your freezer with 'The World's Greatest Beef' at a Special Price with this Promo Code
-
At a parish event, my son couldn't count back change. That's when my eyes were opened...
-
Follow the Example of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Daily Catholic
Daily Readings for Wednesday, August 10, 2022
St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, August 10, 2022
Prayer to Our Guardian Angel: Prayer of the Day for Wednesday, August 10, 2022
- Daily Readings for Tuesday, August 09, 2022
- St. Edith Stein: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, August 09, 2022
- Prayer for Choosing a State of Life # 2: Prayer of the Day for Tuesday, August 09, 2022
Copyright 2021 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2021 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited.
Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.