Some countries are using a UN treaty to make abortion an international legal right, according to the Catholic World News Web site, cwnews.com.

Language making "sexual and reproductive health services"—UN jargon for abortion—a basic human right has received broad support from governments involved in drafting a UN treaty to protect and promote the rights of the disabled. Such language has never previously appeared in a binding treaty.

If approved, the treaty would require signatory nations to "provide persons with disabilities with the same range and standard of health and rehabilitation services as provided other citizens, including sexual and reproductive health services." By describing such services as rights guaranteed to all citizens, the treaty would essentially enshrine abortion rights as international law.

The current draft also includes language that has been interpreted as supporting euthanasia by banning life-saving measures for the ill and medical treatment for those attempting suicide.

The drive to include these provisions in the treaty is being led primarily by the European Union. Oddly, abortion in most circumstances is still illegal in several EU member nations, including Ireland, Poland, Portugal and Malta. (Source: Catholic World News.)