Senators May Vote on Pro-Abortion Treaty.(Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women)

WASHINGTON (August 6, 2002) -- The U.S. Senate may vote this fall on a treaty to ban broadly defined "discrimination" against women -- a treaty that has been interpreted to condemn any limitations on abortion.

On July 30, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 12 to 7 to recommend that the full Senate ratify a treaty called the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) (pronounced "SEE-daw").

The full Senate could vote on the treaty as early as September. Democrats currently hold majority control in the Senate by a single seat, 51-49. Nearly all of the chamber's Democrats have endorsed the CEDAW. However, many Republican senators (and a few Democrats) have never taken a position on it.

It would require a two-thirds vote to ratify the treaty, or 67 senators (if every senator votes). According to The New York Times (July 31), "Treaty supporters said their initial vote counts indicated that they were still at least 3 votes shy of 67. Some Democrats said that if ratification was not assured, they would not want to bring the treaty to the floor this fall."

NRLC strongly opposes ratification of CEDAW because it has been construed by U.N. agencies, by the European Parliament, and by pro-abortion litigators in the United States to be inconsistent with any limitations on abortion.

While the CEDAW does not mention the word "abortion," it explicitly obligates ratifying nations to ensure equal access to "health care services, including those related to family planning," and says that parties shall ensure that men and women have "the same rights to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children." These and other provisions have been construed by various official bodies to condemn any type of restriction on abortion, on grounds that any restrictions on abortion are by definition discrimination against women.

This definition of "sex discrimination" condemns any limits on abortion, including parental involvement laws regarding minors, limits on late-term abortions, and laws recognizing the right of health-care providers to refuse to participate in abortions, because all such laws "apply only to women."