Contact Austin Ruse, President, Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM), 202-393-7002, 202-531-3770 cell

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Tomorrow morning at the UN press briefing room, internationally recognized scholar Professor Robert George of Princeton and former US Ambassador Grover Joseph Rees will challenge claims made by UN personnel and others that there exists an international right to abortion in international law.

Where: UN Press Briefing Room, Dag Hammarskjold Auditorium
When: October 6, 2011, 11 a.m.
What: Launch of the San Jose Articles

OPEN TO UN ACCREDITED PRESS

As recently as a few weeks ago, the UN Special Rapporteur on Health, the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Secretary General have all said such a right exists. And, according to Human Rights Watch, the CEDAW Committee has directed 93 countries to change their laws on abortion.

Professor George, Ambassador Rees and 30 other international experts are releasing the San Jose Articles to refute these claims and to assert the rights of the unborn child in international law.

Other signatories to the Articles include Professor John Finnis of Oxford, Professor John Haldane of the University of St. Andrews, Francisco Tatad, the former majority leader of the Philippine Senate, Javier Borrego, former Judge of the European Court of Human Rights, and Professor Carter Snead of UNESCO's international committee on bioethics.

"The San Jose Articles were drafted by a large group of experts in law, medicine, and public policy. The Articles will support and assist those around the world who are coming under pressure from UN personnel and others who say falsely that governments are required by international law to repeal domestic laws protecting human beings in the embryonic and fetal stages of development against the violence of abortion," said Professor George.

Ambassador Grover Joseph Rees, former US Ambassador to East Timor said, "When I was in Timor I witnessed first-hand a sustained effort by some international civil servants and representatives of foreign NGOs to bully a small developing country into repealing its pro-life laws. The problem is that people on the ground, even government officials, have little with which to refute the extravagant claim that abortion is an internationally recognized human right. The San Jose Articles are intended to help them fight back."

To schedule an interview with Dr. George, Ambassador Rees or any of the San Jose Signatories, contact Austin Ruse, 202-393-7002, 202-531-3770 (cell).

The Articles and support material may be viewed tomorrow at www.sanjosearticles.org.