Disunited nations

Abortion Present: A statement of dissent at the UN, a victory in west Texas, and other pro-life news | Alisa Harris

Devra Berkowitz/UN

Grassroots pro-life activists just sent a sweeping statement to the United Nations. It started with Marie Stopes International's floundering online petition to declare abortion a human right. Carlo Cassini, an Italian pro-life member of the European Parliament, thought pro-lifers could beat MSI's 600 signatures so he began asking pro-life groups to circulate their own petition. This one affirmed both the family as a fundamental unit and "the right to life of every human being, from conception to natural death."

The movement spread from Europe to America—to Concerned Women for America, United Families International, and the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM). "We did it expecting 100,000 signatures tops and it just skyrocketed," said C-FAM's Susan Yoshihara. In two months, the petition collected almost half a million signatures from 168 countries and was translated into 13 languages.