February 28, 2008
Need for Parental Rights Amendment
| Host: | Ingrid Schlueter |
| Guest: | Michael Farris |
| Listen: | RealAudio | Windows Media | MP3 | Order Tape or CD |
Michael Farris is Chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association.
What would you say if a piece of legislation passed that would do away with your rights as parents, giving your children a new set of autonomy rights that would allow them to object to any and all forms of religious training, allow them to associate with anyone they wanted, give them the right to see, hear, or read whatever they choose, and the right to choose their own religion or no religion at all?
These are just a few of the provisions contained within "The U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child". This convention, which still resides in the State Department and has not been ratified, sets up a battle between parental rights vs. the rights of children. It must be noted, however, that this is not dealing with basic human rights for children, but instead is about autonomy rights and who makes decisions for children.
Michael points out that a federal district judge has already ruled that even though the U.S. has not ratified the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, it is already binding on the U.S. under the international law doctrine known as Customary International Law. This means that when so many nations agree to be bound by the same legal standard, all nations are bound to this standard whether a particular nation consents or not.
Michael then discussed a proposed parental rights amendment. This amendment, purposely written to keep out international law, basically states that parental rights are fundamental rights but not unlimited. This means that when there's a child abuse factor involved, the government can still intervene.
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