“Everyone has the right to life”- Article Three, the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Since the dawn of the modern era, every democratic nation has held at the centre of its constitution a bill of rights. These documents have in turn been based on one central right: the right to live. No right is as fundamental, for without life, no other rights may exist. Yet most of these nations that supposedly value human life as their first basic right have liberal abortion laws, with the extreme example, sadly, being Canada, with absolutely no regulations on abortion. So why is it that protecting life before birth and after 80 is so low on the United Nations’ priority list?
The unfortunate truth is that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is simply not enforced by the United Nations or the UN’s Human Rights Committee. Long ago, the UN ceased to take a proactive role on human rights, and has advocated against right to life issues on many occasions.
Today, the UN stands as one of the most resolutely pro-abortion bodies on earth. No, the application of the Universal Declaration for life issues cannot be entrusted to the corrupt leadership at the United Nations. The solution must be our own. In the absence of moral leadership, Canadian pro-lifers must step up through a two-fold approach to enforce the spirit of the declaration in our country.
“Building a culture of life requires more than law; it requires changing hearts.” So said former president George W. Bush at one U.S. March for Life.
The most fundamental step the pro-life movement must take to enforce the spirit of life embodied by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is to change the hearts and minds of Canadians. While it is true that polls consistently show Canadians do not support current abortion laws, the fact remains that they support abortion to a degree. Canadians have been lied to for 30 years about abortion and unfortunately, the pro-abortion side has had a monopoly on the claim of representing human rights. The shallow call for “the right to choose” is the main reason Canadians support abortion: Canadians want to support human rights, but the debate has been framed as one between fundamentalists and “the true” human rights advocates, “pro-choice” crusaders.
This is simply not the case, as we well know. The pro-life cause is supported by both science and reason. The only battle it has lost is the public relations war. But this can change, as it has before. Life will again be triumphant when Canadians know that the pro-life side truly represents human rights. In the late 18th century, a British MP named William Wilberforce became a devout Christian and decided to dedicate his life to ending another egregious human rights violation: the slave trade. Little did he know what he would undertake. It took decades for his dream to be realized. Yet Wilberforce succeeded because he gained the support of the British people. Wilberforce and the men who worked with him knew they had to let Britons know the horrors of slavery. Before the legal triumph, the abolitionists changed hearts.
In their hearts, Canadians know which side truly represents human rights. They just have to be woken up. It will take strong leadership on the pro-life side and a more personal appeal to Canadians based on reason and the scientific proof behind the human right to live. It may take decades longer, but the implementation of the spirit of the Universal Declaration starts with our outreach.
The focus of pro-life efforts has long been to change Canadian laws and, while we must divert more attention to public outreach, we cannot neglect the vital importance of fighting in Parliament. Wilberforce tabled bill after bill, and petition after petition, in the House of Commons, only to face repeated defeats. Yet, he did not relent and his persistence was rewarded in the end. Like Wilberforce, the pro-life movement must be a relentless, never-ceasing voice in the halls of Parliament for the right to live. This will require strong political leadership and must go beyond partisan politics. It will be challenging, which makes public support all the more necessary. Unfortunately abortion is not high on the priority list of any major party leaders at this time, mostly out of fear of electoral backlash. Not political success, not public opinion, not even national unity can ever be more important than the right to live and we must fight the good fight on Parliament Hill to protect the innocent lives of thousands.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights may be a good document, but it has little sway over life issues because of the United Nations’ lack of moral character and true leadership. However, the spirit of the document can still be enforced in Canada and throughout the world by courageous pro-life leaders. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,” Edmund Burke is credited with saying.
Similarly, the only thing necessary for the triumph of right is for good men and women to stand up and lead. The value of human life embodied by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights will not be implemented unless pro-life leaders rise up in civilian and political life to take a stand for that first right we all hold so dear: the right to life.
Edward Wooley of Caledonia, Ont., attends St. Thomas More high school in Hamilton. He is a co-winners of the 2009 Fr. Ted Colleton Essay Contest. Two more essays will appear next month.
