WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- On Tuesday the U.S. Senate voted 61-36 to take up discussion on The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), a treaty that interferes with U.S. law. Although President Obama signed it in 2009, it never passed in the Senate and now needs a two-thirds majority to ratify. Thirty-six senators have signed a letter stating they "will oppose efforts to consider a treaty during this time." The treaty espouses equal rights for the disabled but critics claim it will allow the state to usurp parents' right to determine what is best for their disabled children.
According to Adriana Gonzalez, vice president of Catholics Called to Witness (CC2W.org), "We live in a nation that has taken seriously the rights of people with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1991 and several other federal laws provide for the disabled and protect them from discrimination. As Americans, we should not look to a UN treaty to substitute our laws regarding domestic issues."
Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum joined Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Michael Farris, President of ParentalRights.org and Chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association at a Monday press conference to protest this treaty. They stated that it would undermine parental rights and threaten U.S. sovereignty.
"This would be something unprecedented in American law, to give the state the ultimate authority as to what is the best interest of your child," said Santorum. He brought his wife and disabled 3-year-old daughter born with trisomy 18. "The medical definition of her condition says its incompatible with life," he said. "I hesitate to think what those in government and in charge would think, ...how our daughter should be treated and what medical treatments should be available to her if her diagnosis is incompatible with life."
Leticia Velasquez, co-founder of KIDS (Keep Infants with Down Syndrome) warns, "If this document becomes law, a family which espouses traditional moral values may be accused of impeding the so called right to sexual expression, or abortion. Their child could be removed from their home 'for his own good'."
Gonzalez asks people to call their senators. Senator contact information and suggested language can be accessed at CC2W.org. If your senator is one of the 36 who voted "no" on Tuesday, she said, "please thank them and encourage them to vote against the CRPD."
