UN Commission Begins with Harassment of Catholic Pro-Lifers

By | March 11, 2023

NEW YORK, March 11 (C-Fam) Starting this past Monday, the annual UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) brings together thousands of abortion and sexual rights advocates to the United Nations for events in partnership with delegates, government leaders, and UN agencies, while UN member states negotiate an annual non-binding document. Despite their claims of inclusivity and diversity, the UN agencies staunchly defend progressive Western feminist ideals and have left little room for pro-family and life organizations to participate.

The broad landscape of CSW is hostile to family and life groups, including open anti-religious and anti-Catholic statements targeting the permanent observer of the Holy See in the UN. Catholics for Choice, an abortion and homosexual/trans advocate organization, hosted a presentation —  “How the Catholic Church uses ‘gender ideology’ to threaten human rights.” The influence of the Holy See in UN negotiations and the Catholic Church at large was condemned alongside its pro-life stance and belief that men and women are complimentary sexes. The president of Catholics for Choice, Jamie Manson, labeled the binary reality of gender as “gender ideology,” calling it a “real idol now in the Church these days.” Among other accusations against Catholic doctrine, Dianne Willman, a South-African native and self-identified “priest” from the schismatic initiative Roman Catholic Womenpriests, declared the refusal of women’s ordination in the Church a human rights crisis and a “gender apartheid,” comparing the inhumane crimes committed in the South African Apartheid.

In an event hosted by UN Women and the Generation Equality Forum for “shaping a feminist digital future,” Caitlin Kraft-Buchman, founder and CEO of Women at the Table, told the audience that technology must be used to ensure a progressive feminist future: “this is about control, this is about power.” Throughout the CSW NGO events was a call for an international right to abortion and sexual rights; Dr. Tlaleng-Mofokeng, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, abortion provider, and self-proclaimed “rebellious Catholic” moderated a panel on sexual and reproductive health and rights through technology. Among the panelists was Dana Northcraft, founding director of RHITES, an NGO dedicated to spreading abortion telehealth services. As an American, she expressed her disappointment on the overturning of Roe V. Wade, saying, “we want more than Roe…people have always managed abortions by themselves regardless of politics, and will continue to do so regardless of how…any governmental bodies act.” 

A small number of pro-family and life events were allowed, though subject to great backlash and verbal harassment. At an event on March 9, the Friends of the Family coalition presented on parental rights, the dangers of sexual predators, illegal content, and grooming of children through modern technology. Near the closing of the event, several audience members began to yell and accuse the panelists of bigotry, homophobia, and perpetuation of “unsafe spaces” and discrimination.

The UN agencies have made it clear in their documents, resolutions, and statements that all perspectives will be tolerated, except for “harmful” and “discriminatory” values that uphold the family and life as the foundation of society. The Commission on the Status of Women will continue through next week as member states finalize their Agreed Conclusions in plenary sessions.

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