Contact: Carol Griesbach, 815-964-5819, 513-515-3685 (cell); Don Feder at 815-964-5819, 513-515-3685 (cell), both with World Congress of Families, media@worldcongress.org

MEDIA ADVISORY, Aug. 23 /Standard Newswire/ -- "What Amnesty International is really demanding, as a human right, is abortion on demand," said World Congress of Families Global Coordinator Larry Jacobs.

Jacobs was responding to the announcement that Amnesty International's national chapters have confirmed a decision, made by its board of directors in April, to designate abortion a human right if the mother's life or health is at risk.

"Health is usually interpreted to include the mother's mental health," Jacobs noted. "It isn't difficult to find a mental health professional willing to declare that any unplanned pregnancy is a threat to the emotional well-being of the woman in question."

Jacobs continued: "Thus, when Amnesty International says there's a human right to abortion when the mother's life or health is endangered, it's really a call for unlimited access to abortion."

Amnesty International will use its new policy to pressure pro-life countries into allowing more and more access to abortion.

Amnesty International's policy here has drawn a sharp response. Cardinal Renato Martino – president of the Pontifical Council for Peace and Justice and a speaker at World Congress of Families III – said Catholics worldwide will boycott A.I., a sentiment endorsed by Bishop William Skylstad, president of the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference.

"Try to imagine Amnesty International defending the right-to-life of the most vulnerable among us," Jacobs asked. "You can't, because Amnesty International is a leftwing group, with a leftwing agenda – including abortion on demand – masquerading as a human rights organization."

In May, World Congress of Families IV was held in Poland, attracting more than 3,500 delegates from over 60 countries. For more information on the World Congress of Families, including the Warsaw Report on World Congress of Families IV, visit www.worldcongress.org.

To schedule an interview with Larry Jacobs, global coordinator of the World Congress of Families, contact Carol Griesbach 1-800-461-3113. 

The World Congress of Families (WCF) is an international network of pro-family organizations, scholars, leaders and people of goodwill from more than 60  countries that seeks to restore the natural family as the fundamental social unit and the 'seedbed' of civil society.  The WCF was founded in 1997 by Allan Carlson and is a project of The Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society in Rockford, Illinois (www.profam.org).  To date, there have been four World Congresses of Families – Prague (1997), Geneva (1999), Mexico City (2004) and Warsaw, Poland (2007).