The recent 71^st session of the CRC revealed that the current committee is pursuing an activist pro-abortion agenda as it instructed a number of countries to change their laws protecting children in the womb from abortion in contrast to the Convention’s preamble that states, "…the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth".

The CRC used the reporting review to tell Ireland, Benin, Brunei Darussalam, Haiti, Iran, Kenya, Peru and Senegal—all with strict laws limiting abortion— that they must “Decriminalize abortions in all circumstances”. All but Senegal were instructed to “review its legislation to guarantee children’s access to safe abortion” and “ensure that the views of the pregnant girl are always heard and respected in abortion decisions”. 

In issuing the extreme pro-abortion recommendations the CRC referenced its General Comment No. 4: Adolescent Health and Development in the Context of the Convention on the Rights of the Child but moved beyond the actual text as it discounted national sovereignty and the recognition at ICPD that laws on abortion are to be determined according to the national or local legislative process.

General Comment (GC) No.4, issued in 2003, states in paragraph 27 that State parties are to provide access to sexual and reproductive health services, including “safe abortion services where abortion is not against the law”.  However, the CRC ignored the caveat “where abortion is not against the law” and instructed countries that they ought to change their laws restricting access to abortion.

In regards to parental consent, the GC states in paragraph 28 that “Before parents give their consent, adolescents need to have a chance to express their views freely and their views should be given due weight, in accordance with article 12 of the Convention.”  The GC gives additional priority to the views of the adolescent if she or he is “of sufficient maturity” stating that consent from the adolescent is all that is needed and parents are to be informed that the abortion decision “is in the best interest of the child”. (The “child” in this case is the young girl who undergoes an abortion, not the child who is aborted. Abortion is never in his or her best interest but the current CRC does not adhere to a consistent concern for the lives of children throughout the life cycle.)

The CRC did not include any mention of parental consent in its observations to countries admonishing them to “ensure that the views of the pregnant girl are always heard and respected in abortion decisions”; this includes when the girl is not of sufficient maturity.  The bias against parental consent was also expressed to Latvia which was instructed to: “Ensure free medical abortion services to all girls younger than 18 and ensure that their views are always heard and respected in abortion decisions” and to “Ensure access to free contraception to adolescents, both girls and boys”.

The CRC also focused on advancing controversial comprehensive sexuality education instructing countries, except Iran, to “Adopt a comprehensive sexual and reproductive health policy for adolescents and ensure that sexual and reproductive health education is part of the mandatory school curriculum and targeted at adolescent girls and boys”.

Oman’s country report was also reviewed but it was instructed only to “Promote age-appropriate sexual education and family planning targeted at adolescents and the wider community”.

The CRC increasingly relies on the General Comments it has issued and not on the actual treaty during its recommendations to countries. In General comment No. 15 on the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, issued in 2013, the CRC states in paragraph 70: “The Committee recommends that States ensure access to safe abortion and post-abortion care services, irrespective of whether abortion itself is legal.”

PNCI notes that countries are not obligated to follow the recommendations of UN treaty bodies.