Thought this was interesting in light of the discussion on the history of
treatment of people with disabilities by the Catholic Church.  Inclusioon
Daily Express has great info on disability issues.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Kendall David Corbett <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Jan 3, 2007 12:59 PM
Subject: Vatican on Disability
To: [log in to unmask]

 *Vatican** Refuses To Sign Global Disability Rights Treaty*
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
December 19, 2006

VATICAN CITY--The Vatican has refused to sign an international treaty
protecting the rights of the world's 650 people with disabilities because of
a clause Catholic Church leaders believe could allow abortions based on
disability.

In a December 14 address to the United Nations General Assembly, Archbishop
Celestino Migliore, Pope Benedict XVI's U.N. Ambassador, said the Vatican
supported most of the "helpful" provisions in the Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities, particularly those calling for people with
disabilities to be fully included in society.

However, Archbishop Migliore noted, a clause requiring member nations to
provide "sexual and reproductive health and population-based public health
programs" to people with disabilities might actually be used to promote
abortions to keep children with disabilities from being born.

"The same convention created to protect persons with disabilities from all
discrimination in the exercise of their rights may be used to deny the very
basic right to life of disabled unborn persons."

"For this reason, and despite the many helpful articles this Convention
contains, the Holy See is unable to sign it," he concluded.

On December 13, the General Assembly approved the treaty, which is being
hailed as the first U.N. human rights treaty in the 21st century. U.N.
member nations will be able to sign onto the convention beginning on March
30 of next year. It will come into force once 20 nations have ratified it.

*Related:
"Address on U.N. Convention on the Disabled; 'The Holy See Is Unable to Sign
It'" (Zenit News Services) *
http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=99940
*"U.N. General Assembly Approves International Disability Rights Treaty"
(Inclusion Daily Express)*
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/archives/06/12/13/121306untreaty.htm

---



 Kendall

An unreasonable man (but my wife says that's redundant!)

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress
depends on the unreasonable man.

-George Bernard Shaw 1856-1950

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