View United for Life's Letter to the Blair Government :  View  in PDF  10 August 2006

View Why the Blair Government must oppose the killing of children by abortion,  contraception, human embryo experimentation, IVF, human cloning, and related activities; how such activities are modern forms of slavery, destroy the environment, and how Human Rights apply.

View British Government Funds Human Rights Abuse - Funding Population Control Groups And Abortion Advocates Such As UNFPA & IPPF

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHRs) protects the right to life of ‘...all members of the human family.’  Since the unborn are members of the human family the UDHRs protects the right to life of the unborn.  The Declaration on the Rights of the Child states that, ‘ ...the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth.’

This raised the question of Tony Blair & the Blair Government's commitment to implementing in full the UDHRs and the Declaration on the Rights of the Child in regard to the unborn and so we questioned Tony Blair & the Blair Government further.

United for Life wrote two further letter to Tony Blair & the Blair Government.  One letter on the 28th July 2005 and the other on 10th August 2006.

The 28th July 2005 letter asked ‘ ...if an asylum seeker from China was found to have been forcibly aborted or forcibly sterilised in China under the Chinese one-child-policy, would they have the right to remain in the UK?’

The 10th August letter shows why Tony Blair & the Blair Government must oppose the killing of children by abortion, contraception, human embryo experimentation, IVF, human cloning and related activities; how such activities are modern forms of slavery, destroy the environment, and how Human Rights apply.

In answer to the 28th July letter, Tony Blair & the Blair Government, via the Home Office, replied as follows:

‘I am writing to respond to your letter dated 28 July 2005 regarding asylum seekers from China that have been forcibly aborted or sterilised under the 'one child policy' and whether they would have the right to remain in the UK.

Each asylum claim is considered on its own merits and whether a claimant is given the right to remain in the UK will depend on the circumstances of their case.

In order to qualify for asylum, a claimant must show that they have a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.’

The above letter from the Home Office raises further questions.  Looking at the Home Office website,   Gender issues in the asylum claim , forced abortion and forced sterilisation are considered persecutory and legitimate reasons for asylum yet the Home Office failed to mention this in their letter to us.

The Home Office's website states:

‘There are many forms of harm that are more frequently or only used against women that may constitute torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and which may amount to persecution.  Such persecution, if for a Convention reason could result in the woman being recognised as a refugee.  These include, but are not limited to:

• marriage-related harm;
• violence within the family or community;
• domestic slavery;
• forced abortion;
• forced sterilisation;
• trafficking;
• female genital mutilation;
• sexual violence and abuse; and
• rape

Gender-specific harm is not different from other forms of ill treatment and violence that are commonly held to amount to persecution.  The fact that violence against women is common and widespread in a particular society does not mean that it can not amount to persecution.  Each case should be considered on its own merits against country information and not disregarded because such treatment is common and widespread.’

This means that forced abortion, forced sterilisation, including forced contraception, is considered as persecution by the Home Office.

The Home Office's webpage on  China  however, while acknowledging that China has a policy of forced abortion and forced sterilisation, fails to address the issue in any adequate or meaningful way, suggesting that there is 'not enough evidence' to allow claiments to stay in Britain.  However, there is plenty of evidence available on China's human rights abuse of forced abortion and forced sterilisation from the United States and this has been available to the UK Government for 25 years.  The Home Office website does however state in paragraph 3.10.15 that :

‘However, if a claimant is able to demonstrate that on return they face a serious risk of an enforced termination of a pregnancy or an enforced sterilisation, a grant of Humanitarian Protection will be appropriate.’

A  LifeNews.com  March 17, 2005 report by Steven Ertelt claims that ‘A British court told an immigration board that it should review its decision prohibiting a Chinese refuge from receiving asylum because she was fleeing a forced abortion and sterilization in China’.

This and other reports on forced abortion and forced sterilisation in China and Tibet can be found by clicking  here.

The British Government should also know of UNFPA's and IPPF's activities in relation to China's forced abortion and forced sterilisation policy.  An analysis of this abuse can be found in a report entitled: Coercion threatens freedom itself  compiled by C-FAM, PRI and others, can be found by clicking here.  You can read further information from United for life's China page.

United for Life will now write back to the Home Office to follow up our concerns for asylum seekers on such grounds.

United for Life has also questioned the Department for Health position on abortion.  The Department for International Development (DfID), failed to reply to our letter urging them to join our Make Abortion History campaign, yet their own position document "Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights" mentions forced abortion as a human rights abuse.

No group of humans can be treated as 'non-persons' and this includes the disabled, the elderly, slaves, Jews, the unborn or any other group, including human embryos.  Thus, no excuse can be made to exclude any group of humans from equal protection under law.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims these Rights as 'a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations' and that 'every individual and every organ of society ...shall strive ...to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance ...among the peoples of Member States.'  It is therefore United for Life's duty to call upon Tony Blair and his Government to help promote legal protection for children before as well as after birth.

Read :  How Abortion Violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.