Yikes, UN!

I am not a big fan of the UN for many reasons.  This is one of them.  The UN is pushing a treaty on the "Rights of Disabled Persons."  The "positive" basis of this treaty is that the world needs a high standard of accessibility for people with disabilities:

Article 1 - Purpose

The purpose of the present Convention is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.

Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.

That sounds great, right?  I am all for the dignity of people with disabilities.  But, then things get scary:

Article 7 - Children with disabilities

1. States Parties shall take all necessary measures to ensure the full enjoyment by children with disabilities of all human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with other children.

2. In all actions concerning children with disabilities, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.

3. States Parties shall ensure that children with disabilities have the right to express their views freely on all matters affecting them, their views being given due weight in accordance with their age and maturity, on an equal basis with other children, and to be provided with disability and age-appropriate assistance to realize that right. 
(quotes taken from the convention text at http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/conventionfull.shtml)

This is the #1 thing that concerns me about this treaty.  Notice that it is the "state" that has the responsibility and authority under this article.  The states are given the go-ahead to have the final say over the parents of the child.  YIKES! 

I can give you countless reasons why this is a BAD idea.  If the state was in charge, my child would have spent hours in the hospital without the attention he needed.  Want one example? When his G-tube came out we had to throw a fit for them to take us seriously.  There is an open wound in my child's stomach, do you think you can take care of it?  He also would be vomiting daily because the doctors would force him onto a formula diet.  Thank goodness I had the final say on that one and we switched to a blended food diet so that we never ended up in the hospital with pneumonia.  And what about the numerous doctors I had to see saying, "something is not right with my child," until doctor #4 sent us to the hospital where James received treatment for the next month?  The state would have sided with doctor #1, we wouldn't have a chance for a second opinion or to travel to a better hospital or clinic that specializes in our son's needs because, well, that is just too much and too expensive for the government that is now in charge of my child's care.  This is a dangerous precedent and should be taken seriously by all parents.

Why do we need a global bureaucratic body to take decisions out of the hands of parents?  Why should we let them be a higher authority than our own government which is supposed to be a government of the people?

Things get scarier still.  Take a look at these videos:

The first part of this is very interesting.  Dr. Farris questions why the US would ratify a treaty with no intention of fully upholding it as is the "understanding" written of this treaty.  If you don't care about that part you can skip ahead to minute 3.

This video goes into other problems, especially regarding the socialistic intentions of the treaty.

Rick and Karen Santorum say it best:  

“The ultimate responsibility of all parents is to care for your child, a responsibility that only takes on added weight when your child has special needs. As parents of a beautiful, special girl, we know first-hand the blessings of loving our Bella. This is precisely why we at Patriot Voices are urging the U.S. Senate to vote against ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The CRPD would usurp the rights and powers of parents here in the United States to do what is best for their special needs child by placing the law of the UN above the rights of the parents. It is the job of our elected representatives to preserve these rights, not hand them off to unaccountable international bureaucrats." (Read the whole article here)

Want more information on the "Convention on the Rights of Disabled Persons" (also interesting to note the lack of "person first" vocabulary)?  You can go to this website.

Please lobby your senators to stop this treaty!

With love.