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Amy Lidell

Geneva Consensus Aims to Protect the Sanctity of Life

By | International, Legislative Updates, News and Events, Sanctity of Life | No Comments

By Amy Lidell, Intern for Concerned Women for America

The fight for life continues as the United States has come together with Brazil, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, and Uganda to form the Geneva Consensus Declaration. The virtual signing of this consensus took place on October 22, 2020, to commemorate the commitment of these nations working together to promote better health care for women, preserve human life, strengthen the family unit as the foundation of society, and protect every nation’s sovereignty in global politics. It is every nation’s sovereign right to push back international abortion ideology and pass their own laws regarding abortion.

President Donald Trump, a strong defender of human life, warned the United Nations to stay within its mandate at the 2019 United Nations General Assembly Speech stating, “Americans will never tire of defending innocent life. We are aware that many United Nations projects have attempted to assert a global right to taxpayer-funded abortion on demand, right up until the moment of delivery. Global bureaucrats have absolutely no business attacking the sovereignty of nations that wish to protect innocent life. Like many nations here today, we in America believe that every child born and unborn, is a sacred gift from God.”

Over 76 percent of Americans oppose American taxpayer dollars supporting abortion in other countries. Abortion is not healthcare and is not a legitimate form of family planning. There is only an international right to life. No multilateral organizations should use their power and influence to pressure any country to include or exclude abortion in their national policies. This allows each nation to determine its own path in preserving human dignity, as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In connection with the Trump Administration’s Protecting Life in Global Health Policy, the Geneva Consensus seeks to build a global coalition to promote women’s health while protecting unborn life and strengthening the family. Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance (PLGHA) works in conjunction with this policy by restricting funding for organizations abroad that promote or perform abortion.

Although US contractors and subcontractors are not subject to PLGHA (also known as the Mexico City policy), they are held to ensure the compliance of any foreign subcontractors. The Trump Administration has proposed a rule to clarify this responsibility and to expand the terms of PLGHA to cover all international health program contracts, in addition to the global health assistance grants and cooperative agreements under current policy. You can join in commenting in support of this Mexico City Policy Rule at our Action Center by clicking here. The deadline for comments is November 13, 2020.

Progress abounds in the fight for life. We encourage you to continue to pray for wisdom and clarity for our international leaders to continue to step up and find ways to continue to preserve national sovereignty and the individual’s right to life.

Safety First Online Starts at Home

By | Education, Legislative Updates, News and Events, Sexual Exploitation | No Comments

By Amy Lidell, Intern for Concerned Women for America

Last week the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) partnered with the White House, Justice Department, and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to host a live stream webinar promoting online safety for children. Ivanka Trump and Attorney General William Barr opened the webinar voicing their support for the safety movement while outlining some of the risks children face online.

Screen time in 2020 increased significantly as a result of the required social distancing connected to the coronavirus pandemic, and online enticement is up by a minimum of 20 percent. Attorney General Barr voiced his concern for the amplified dependency on technology for social interaction, stating, “Unfortunately, the same technology that connects us with family and friends also provides predators with a pathway back into our homes and can be used for strangers who want to target, groom, and sexually exploit our children.”  Internet safety is more important than ever. We are all harmed when children are exploited online.

Safety First promotes a culture of safety over a value of privacy for online predators. An individual’s privacy cannot take priority over a child’s online vulnerability. Ivanka Trump discussed the importance of standing behind sexual assault victims and allowing their voices to be heard while becoming proactive in preventing online exploitation from happening in American homes. DHS Chief Chad Wolf added that proactive conversations with kids about online safety make them less vulnerable.

NCMEC leaders spoke on ways to successfully direct difficult conversations with kids of all ages about online activity. They showed that the earlier these conversations take place within a family, the more likely parents successfully prevent online enticement, sexting, sextortion, and any other inappropriate interaction with strangers or predators.

NCMEC has provided fun, age-appropriate workbooks on its website to provide parents and teachers an outlet to teach kids about online safety. These workbooks help navigate uncomfortable discussions about saying no to online strangers and avoiding traps used by predators to lure kids into inappropriate correspondence. Physical contact is not needed for an online offender, and it is alarming how direct predator requests become towards a child when direct action is not taken immediately.

We encourage you to learn more about the Safety First movement and join Concerned Women for America in taking the NCMEC Safety Pledge to continue learning how to be critical role models for kids through your online activity, presence, and conversation.