UNICEF leaves unborn out of abortion debate in Nicaragua

Managua, Nicaragua, Jul 12, 2004 / 22:00 pm

An official from the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), Gary Stahl, has gotten involved in the debate on the legalization of abortion in Nicaragua, with a call to defend young girls who do not want to be mothers, even though this implies the death of the unborn.

During debate in parliament on the reform of the Penal Code, which is focused on abortion to “save the life of the mother,” Stahl emphasized that “issues such as those related to the rights of children and the effects of sexual abuse are not being taken into account.”

Although he sad that UNICEF has not taken a position regarding the debate in parliament, his statements indicated the contrary.

“I think that in this debate the victims are being somewhat overlooked, we are talking about a problem which is abortion and I think the national debate would be improved if we concentrated more on the fact that this is a flagrant violation of the rights of children,” he said.

Stahl’s definition of “victims” appears to exclude the unborn.

“We need to look at the issue of their mental health, their physical health in general.  Instead of seeing it as a debate, a controversy between the left and the right, between one party and another, we should see it from the perspective of the rights of children, because the perspective of the children themselves is being somewhat lost,” he added.

Pro-life sources told CNA that the statements by Stahl only reinforce the long-held belief that the UNICEF is one of the most pro-abortion international organizations.  For UNICEF, to defend children is to give them the right to abort, but it forgets that the unborn are also children that deserve protection.