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Amnesty International was one of the organizations I used to admire. The members from different countries are quick to send letters of solidarity to victims of human rights. They have been very vocal in protesting against capital punishment or the death penalty, no matter what country was implementing it.
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I was the recipient of such a letter of support in 1982 when I was falsely accused of murder, subversion and inciting rebellion - supposedly one of the officers of the NPA.
I had joined a fact-finding mission organized by Task Force Detainees of AMRSP during the Marcos regime. Five of us in the team – another Good Shepherd nun, two men and one woman had gone to the mountain area of Lobo, Batangas to investigate the arbitrary arrest and killing of farmers who were accused of being members or supporters of the New Peoples Army. We did obtain the names of the soldiers who had been abusive and violent but we never got to submit those facts to the central office. On our way back to Manila, we were arrested and detained, our lay companions severely tortured and were released only after the People Power even in 1986.
That seems so long ago. Amnesty International continues to be a beacon of light to human rights victims all over the world. However, it was downright disappointing when I received information that AI is promoting the decriminalization of abortion in countries that have not legalized it yet. In answer to our letter of protest in the name of Pro-life Philippines, AI insisted on the need to legalize abortion in order to provide services to victims of rape and incest.
We know from counseling many pregnant girls and women, including survivors of rape and incest, that abortion is not the answer. Exerting more effort to stop the abomination of incest and rape is the more appropriate and urgent way Rape and incest have multiplied in countries that have legalized abortion. Men have become bolder in raping women while women have chosen abortion as their first course of solution instead of seeking the harder way of continuing a pregnancy and giving life to an innocent life. The US Supreme Court in 1973 decriminalized abortion in the Roe v Wade decision. The case was based on a lie. Jane Roe (real name is Norma McCorvey) who filed the case claimed she was raped and had an abortion. She was never raped, in fact she was living a promiscuous life and this was her third pregnancy. She never had an abortion. She gave birth to a baby girl whom she placed for adoption. Two feminist lawyers approached her while she was still pregnant and asked that they use her name for the cause of women – the right to privacy and women’s choice. Thirty years after Roe v Wade, Norma McCorvey has converted to the Catholic Church and she and her daughter are now very active pro-lifers. Their main concern now is to work for the reversal of the legalization of abortion in the US. They have collected over 6,000 testimonies of women to be submitted to the US Congress to show how abortion has hurt women instead of helping them.
Doubly disappointing is the fact that the deputy secretary general of AI is a woman – Kate Gilmore. In answer to the objection of the U.S. Bishops and the withdrawal of membership of the Irish head of AI, Gilmore stated that her organization will not reverse the abortion policy decision.
Amnesty International continues to pressure countries, especially third world countries, to legalize abortion in the guise of human rights for women. Please send your letter of protest and support the stand of the Catholic Church and pro-life groups. For details on how and where to send your letter, contact Pro-life office at 911-2911, telefax 421-7147.
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