Today on radio, Glenn spent a good portion of his opening monologue on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He invited former Senator Rick Santorum on to the show to discuss the issue as well. Santorum strongly opposes the treaty as it takes away a lot of the decision-making ability from the parents and hands it over to the federal government and the UN. Santorum, the parent of a special needs child, gave insight into both his personal feelings about the treaty and the impact it would have on families and United States sovereignty.
PatriotVoices.com, run by Rick Santorum, explained on their website:
The U.S. Senate has scheduled a vote on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) for Tuesday, December 4.The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) would give the U.N. oversight of the healthcare and education choices parents with special needs kids make. It is outrageous that the government could tell you and me what is best for our children, particularly when they’ve never met the child.
If this were to pass, CRPD would become the law of the land under the U.S. Constitution's Supremacy Clause, and would trump state laws, and could be used as precedent by state and federal judges. This treaty would give the government, acting under U.N. instructions, the ability to determine for all children with disabilities what is best for them. It also would give the U.N. discretion over decisions about how we educate our special needs kids, and could potentially eliminate parental rights for the education of children with disabilities
Below is rough transcript of the interview:
We have Rick Santorum who runs Patriotvoices.com. And he's quite concerned about the UN's convention on the rights of the persons with disabilities, and it may pass the Senate tomorrow. Hello Rick.
SANTORUM: Great to hear your voice.
GLENN: This agenda from the UN has already passed the Senate committee and it looks like it's going to pass the full Senate for ratification.
SANTORUM: Right now we're holding on to the hope that 36 senators will not sign any treaties in the lame duck session. Two years ago the star treaty, and that being passed in a lame duck session. I think there was sufficient blow back from conservative groups and Republicans generally that enough Republicans have signed the letters. If they stick to it to keep them short of the 67 votes they need. They need obviously they have three more than they need. 33 votes. But they have 36 signatures. The greater concern a lot of those 36 some of them have suggested they might vote for this thing after the first of the year. That would be devastating. This treaty -- this is the most important point. Karen and I have this disabled little girl. Or Senate ratification would help anybody around the world I would be for this. But it doesn't. No benefits. No person with disability here in the United States having the Senate ratify this treaty. But -- the our the reason our ratifying the treaty doesn't improve anybody else's life any place else. Ratifying this treaty will not change disability laws in this country which meet or exceed the standards in the UN treaty. Will not improve their ability to go overseas and get better access to restaurants or curb cuts on the sidewalks. Because America passing a law doesn't impact Germany or Honduras or South Africa. This Kinard they're putting forth on the American public somehow if the United States acts people overseas will have better disability rights.
SANTORUM: Article 18, section 2. Break this down, and tell me what all this means. There's several things that are disturbing the children with disabilities shall be registered immediately afterbirth. That sounds really Orwellian or fascistIC.
SANTORUM: You're pretty much labeled right out of the gate. The idea that somehow or another the government is going to have a record of everybody that's disabled. Why? Why do we need that? These are things that historically in America people with disabilities have been rights protected by their mom and dad who go out and articulate those rights. And then we have laws that apply to disabilities. Now only with this section, but in section 7 the best interest of the child standards. Now the government is going to be in a position according to the UN treaty the government is going to decide what is in the best of your child as opposed to disability laws in this country no, it is the parent's prerogative to determine what is in the best interest of their child. They are only removed from the prerogative if they're proven incapable of protecting their child's interest. Now the presumption the state knows better than that. This turns the disability law with respect to children on its head. There's a section 4 which talks about rights that the government owes sit citizens in this United States. This now turns it on the head which is the positive rights you've talked about it many, many times on your program where the Marxist, progressives, that's the strain they want to have the government in a position where they are extending rights and that the government therefore by giving you rights has obviously a lot more operational control of your lifes'.
GLENN: One thing I've been worried. Devaluing life. That does this. It also tracks everybody. It also I think sets you up -- you have the right to know and be cared for your parents. I think that's a push for abortion quite honestly. Because if you're going to be held responsible years later that will discourage adoption, and encourage abortion I think. One thing I'm really concerned about is education. And home schooling. Does this affect at all how we will -- will this affect home schooling.
SANTORUM: You talked to the folks who're the experts at home schooling. They've been the opponents of this bill. There are provisions that have been in previous UN conventions that expressly carve out the right of parents to have the ability to decide what's best to educate their children. Those are missing from this when it comes to the disabled children. Combine that the fact that there's no language protecting the parent's rights, combine that with section seven which says that the state is going to determine what's in the best interest of your child it's pretty clear that the Americans -- that the individuals with disability act parents will lose. Not the right with disabled children but arguably you can make the broader application.
GLENN: This is not the state as the federal government. This is the United Nations. We're signing on a new United Nations treaty. We're taking more sovereignty from the United States.
SANTORUM: The United States will have to make their case we are in fact complying. Jon Kerry and John McCain are saying this will have no impact. We don't have to do anything with America because we already comply. But what we're now going to be forced to do section 4 one of the subsections says it is the obligation of any state or state being in this case the federal government that adopts this treaty to pass laws and regulations that comply, and there will be a board that we're complying with this treaty, and the answer -- what these the proponents we won't have to do that. We have to ignore that. If they're going to ignore that why pass it. What been right for us to do it.
GLENN: Why would you leave a section in there that where you in the homeland defense bill, the NDAA where you can scoop up people and hold them without trial. You can take them without warrant. You don't have to charge them. The President says we'll never do it.
SANTORUM: Just because it's there doesn't mean we're going to do it. And of course we are continually cited in the country by the United Nations for egregious of not treating our people that the dignity that the UN would like to see. Not pervasive abortions which we would like to. Call your Senator. Call your calling other senators from other states frankly most senators don't pay attention to that. You've got to call your senators, and ask them to oppose the CRPD and it will undermine our sovereignty, and put the United States in a very precarious position, and not just on disability but broader than. . We will get those petitions to members of Congress.
GLENN: Patriotvoices.com. Rick, thanks.
SANTORUM: Thanks.