The directors of Prince Edward Island Right to Life were in for a shock when they began to study the 50-year-old United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, says president Pauline MacDonald. Reading Interim columnist Winifride Prestwich’s booklet, UNICEF: Guilty as Charged, they learned that:

  • UNICEF is not a true charity, but an international organization controlled by a board of UN representatives, each with their own agenda;
  • Over the past 30 years, it has tied itself ever more closely to the population controllers and to the anti-life, anti-family attitude of such organizations as the International Planned Parenthood Federation;
  • As part of its “family planning package” for over a decade, it has promoted sterilization and supported making easily available to all women “legal good quality abortion services”;
  • In this decade it has been emphasizing the availability of contraceptives for population control;
  • Its stated world-wide goal now is “to put the knowledge and the means of family planning at the disposal of every couple of child-bearing age before the year 2000.” (UN conferences in recent years have shown that, without a doubt, “family planning” in this context means abortion.)

“We felt obliged to pass this information on,” says Mrs. MacDonald. “So this winter we sent the book to all school principals in the province, giving them plenty of time to reflect on the information well before the annual Halloween UNICEF collections.”

Like the volunteers who sell UNICEF Christmas cards, educators are generally unaware of how much the organization has changed.

Some schools welcomed the material. But one superintendent complained that permission should have been obtained from the school board before distribution. She did not challenge the facts, but objected to “the breach of protocol.”

“Different regions seem to have different protocols,” says MacDonald. “It has been said, though, that it’s easier to get forgiveness than permission.”

More follow-up is planned before Halloween – possibly focussing on Home and School, school boards, journalism classes or other groups. And organizers say it may need to be a continuing project.

MacDonald offers advice to those considering a similar activity: start by getting well-informed on the subject. She says Miss Prestwich’s 32-page booklet is an excellent resource. It is easy to read, and packed with clearly stated facts. The material is taken from UNICEF’s own official reports, promotions, releases, and correspondence, and leaves no doubt at all about what UNICEF is up to. At $0.85, the price is low enough that even a small pro-life group can manage a sizeable project.

MacDonald says that anti-life propagandists focus on – and use – children, so it’s important to get pro-life information into the schools. She advises that it is important to plan the project carefully, giving school officials time to study and consider the information, well before they are swamped with other reading material in September.

She also advises that, if feasible, a “live” presentation supplemented by the print material might be more effective than a mailing. It might also be wise to suggest acceptable alternative international programs that assist needy children.)