The Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute (C-FAM) is submitting a petition today to the United Nations calling on member states to protect unborn children and the traditional family.

The petition, signed by 350,000 people, asks governments to interpret properly the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which celebrates its 60th anniversary today.

C-FAM launched the pro-life and pro-family petition to counteract efforts by pro-abortion lobby groups, such as the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and Marie Stopes International, to submit their own petition to the United Nations in connection with the anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The abortion lobby’s petition seeks to persuade governments to redefine human-rights law to recognize a “right” to abortion.

Austin Ruse, president of C-FAM, told Catholic News Agency he anticipates the pro-abortion petition to have only a tiny fraction of the number of signatures on C-FAM’s petition in favor of life and family.

“We are proud not only to match but far surpass the efforts of pro-abortion groups,” said Ruse.

Added Ruse, “I suspect that Marie Stopes and IPPF will present a few thousand names. This shows what we have known all along; that abortion is supported mostly by elites while everyday people are for protecting the unborn child.”

Update: According to a Dec. 10 Catholic News Service article,only 651 people had signed the pro-abortion petition posted at the website of Marie Stopes International, as of Dec. 10. That compares to more than 367,000 who had signed the C-FAM petition at that time, meaning that more than 500 people signed the pro-life petition for each person who signed the pro-abortion one.

— Tom McFeely