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It’s all for the children
As usual, the wingnuts were right: the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most widely accepted international agreement ever (the U.S. and Somalia are the only two non-parties), does in fact guarantee children the right, regardless of local law or custom, to be sexually active and get an abortion without parental involvement. At least that’s what a new brochure from the International Planned Parenthood Federation says, and at the UN they’re influential and very well-connected. According to the brochure, a child’s rights include being able
to decide whether to be sexually active or not, and to visit a doctor or nurse to receive “the full range of sexual and
reproductive health services that are available and legal,” including contraceptives and abortion services, without parental
permission or knowledge. The requirement that the service be “legal” doesn’t seem to amount to much, since the child has a right
to life under the convention that trumps local legal enactments. As the brochure points out, “unsafe abortion can lead to
illness and death,” but “with information, skills and services that help you to make informed choices, you can protect yourself
and others from unwanted pregnancy.”
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