Displaying items by tag: human rights

The leftist mainstream news media fabricated a digital curtain around Manus Island and the successful offshore detention policy. The story they told was of cruel bullying of poor victims, violating the most basic human compassion. But what’s on the other side of that curated curtain? Michael Coates tells us what he witnessed first hand, without the sugar coating.

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King. The quote in the image accompanying this post is taken from King's "Letter From a Birmingham Jail."  Written in 1963, its sentiments still apply today to a range of evils that threaten to overwhelm the West: gender mainstreaming, political corruption, same-sex 'marriage', abortion. The following testimony is taken from the book, "King Rules", written by MLK's niece, Alveda King. The book is subtitled, 'Ten truths for you, your family, and our nation to prosper.' Alveda King is now a prominent pro-life activist, and assures those who would appropriate the legacy of MLK to promote abortion, that he was undoubtedly pro-life. The following extract describes Alveda's own tragic experience with abortion, and the pro-life philosophy that pervaded the King household. Note that the after-effects of abortion, as suffered by Alveda King, are similar to those experienced by many post-abortive women.  

Abortionist Leah Torres is no stranger to controversy. She has a huge following on twitter and actively advocates for abortion, while educating - according to her personal brand of science - on the dangers of pregnancy. Last week, she drew heavy criticism from within and without the pro-life community for her comments about her abortion technique: "You know babies can't scream, right? I transect the cord first so there's really no opportunity. If they're even far enough along to have a larynx." Although like many others, I concluded that Torres was referring to the vocal cords, she says she was actually referring to the umbilical cord. [See Dave Pellowe's article and interview with Leah Torres here.] And, while umbilical cord transection is a technique that is sometimes used for second-trimester abortions, it has mixed outcomes for mothers. In any case, it seems irrelevant which cord is being cut: umbilical, vocal or spinal; for the abortionist, they all lead to the result they're after: a dead baby.  

This testimony was written in 2015 by my friend Natalie, and describes her experience with terminal cancer. While so many these days are encouraged to end their lives for the flimsiest of reasons, Natalie’s story shows that life can always be meaningful, even when there is suffering involved. This weekend marks an important anniversary for me. It is the ninth anniversary of my diagnosis of terminal lung cancer. I had been sick for several months, with severe back pain and a bad dry cough and vomiting, but many trips to the doctor had failed to provide an explanation. Finally it got to the point where I could barely walk from my pharmacy to the car park.

I have often sought to make the case for concerns about surrogacy. It is problematic on so many levels. Like the other Assisted Reproductive Technologies, our scientific and technological abilities to do things are outstripping and outpacing our moral reflection on them. And in the process, plenty of harm is being done.

Sometimes I'm stopped in the shopping centre by kind-hearted young people who are trying to raise money for various charities. One of them recently told me that diarrhea is the biggest killer of children under 5 worldwide. But I told him that abortion is the biggest killer of children world wide. [By a factor of 56!] In actual fact,  it's pneumonia that is the disease that kills the most children - it's responsible for 18% of childhood deaths worldwide. This still doesn't come close to the number of children lost to abortion, though. For children under the age of 5: 

Abortion is a Human Rights Catastrophe

According to the Australian Human Rights Commission, human rights are defined as "...the rights and freedoms contained in specific international instruments..." to which the ARHC adheres. These 'instruments' are 7 documents, including the Declaration on the Rights of the Child. Let's take a look at what the documents say about the right to life: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: 

Part III Article 6 

Convention on the Rights of the Child

Article 6 

Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities: 

Article 10 

Declaration of the Rights of the Child:

Introduction 

Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons:

Point 3 

Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons:

Points 1 & 2

Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief:

Article 5 part 5 - [This document doesn't specifically mention a right to life, since that right is assumed as a basis for desiring freedom of religion or belief. It does, however suggest that pre-born babies are to be protected from being aborted, for cultural reasons, on the basis of gender.] Regardless of what we might think of the United Nations, Australia is a signatory to the seven documents mentioned above. So why does our country pay only lip service to this most fundamental right, by allowing 100,000 babies to be slaughtered every year? Our government not only allows this killing on demand, but subsidises it, and promotes it through a sexualised education system. Far from discouraging abortions for flimsy reasons, it's permissible to abort on the basis of gender, or for a minor disability. This callous disregard for life flows into society and creates - not a haven from abuse, as we've been promised - but an increase in child abuse and the number of murders of pregnant mothers. If we fail to acknowledge the humanity of the preborn, how can we not be confused about glaringly fundamental facts such as the nature of marriage and even gender identification? It's no wonder that we have black deaths in custody. It's no wonder that detention centres are inhumane. And it's no wonder that the criminal justice system rewards perpetrators and blames the victims. If we can't get the basics right, then nothing else is going to work properly. If we don't respect the right to life of our children, then all other rights are meaningless. We don't have to look far for a humanitarian crisis: we have one at our own front door.  

Conservatives may laugh about the childish intolerance of Generation Snowflake, but in reality, we have much to fear if they are allowed to continue to wield their latest weapon:18C. In fact, it could be argued that cartoonist Bill Leak's untimely death was due, at least in part, to the stress brought about by accusations that he violated 18C. Legal battles and unwanted media attention are a very stressful form of 'humiliation and insult' - precisely the kind of activity that this law purports to eliminate. More about Bill Leak later.