Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, Ph.D., Founder and President of the Ruth Institute, announced that she will present the signatures of the Institute’s petition to Make the Family Great Again at the next meeting of the State Department Commission on Unalienable Rights February 21.
Of the petition, co-partnered with Life Petitions, Morse said, “We’re greatly encouraged by the outpouring of support, including from many leaders and scholars.”
Morse noted: “President Trump campaigned on a promise to Make America Great Again. But only the family can help him fulfill that promise.”
In July, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo established the Commission to advise his department in its dealings with foreign governments and international organizations.
The Ruth Institute petition urges the Commission and the State Department to make certain fundamental principles the basis for articulating these unalienable rights, among them that:
- Marriage and the family are universal institutions for the stability of society and the continuation of the human race.
- Children need their mother and father.
- Stable loving families provide the basis for strong societies, including thriving economies, national security and international peace.
The petition calls on the Commission to work for the recognition of:
- The right of every child to a relationship with his or her natural mother and father except for an unavoidable tragedy.
- The right to know the identity of one’s biological parents.
- The right to life from conception to natural death.
- The right of families to educate their children in their faith tradition and values, without being undermined by the state.
Leadership signers include: Gary Bauer (President, American Values), Brent Bozell (Founder and President, Media Research Center), Ted Baehr (Chairman, Christian Film and Television Commission), Fr. Shenan Boquet (President, Human Life International), Janice Shaw Crouse (Author, Columnist and Speaker), Kari Curtin (National Director, Marriage Reality Movement), Pat Fagan (Director, Marriage and Religion Research Institute), Robert George (Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University), Jor-El Godsey (President, Heartbeat International), Governor Mike Huckabee (former Governor of Arkansas and talk show host), Alveda King (Author and Activist), Robert Knight (Washington Times columnist), Michael Pakaluk (Professor, Busch School of Business, Catholic University of America), Toni Morrison (Representative, Ill. District 54), Steve Mosher (President and Founder, Family First Foundation), C. Preston Noell (President, American Society for Tradition, Family and Property), Sharon Slater (President, Family Watch International), Steven Smoot (President, Family First Foundation), and Michael Voris (Founder and President, St. Michael’s Media).
Pro-family leaders from around the world have seen the destructive results of international policies that undermine the rights of children to their parents, and parents’ rights and responsibilities toward their children.
Signers from outside the United States include: Rebekah Ali-Gouveia (Pro-Family Leader, Trinidad), Bishop Emmanuel Badejo (Bishop of Oyo, Nigeria), Moira Chimombo (Former Executive Director, Sub-Sahara Family Enrichment, Malawi), Ann Kioko (President, African Organization for Families, Kenya), Lech Kowalewski (Board Member, Polish Federation of Pro-Life Movements), Christa Leonhard (Foundation for Family Values, Germany, and the Swiss Foundation for the Family), Gwen Landolt (First Vice President, REAL Women of Canada), Warwick and Allison Marsh (Founders, Dads4Kids, Australia), Christine Vollmer (Founder and President, Latin American Alliance for the Family, Venezuela), Andrea Williams (Chief Executive, Christian Concern, United Kingdom), and Levan Vasadez (Pro-Life Activist, Republic of Georgia).
“We’re honored to have such distinguished leaders among the petition’s signers,” Morse said. “Their support and that of more than 8,000 others should help the Commission to understand that the family is the foundation of these unalienable rights.”
Go here to sign the petition to Make the Family Great Again.
The Ruth Institute is a global non-profit organization equipping Christians to defend the family and build a civilization of love.
Dr. Morse is the author of The Sexual State: How Elite Ideologies Are Destroying Lives.
Find more information on Dr. Morse and The Ruth Institute here.
To schedule an interview with Dr. Morse, contact media@ruthinstitute.org