By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Journalist An international coalition of pro-life and pro-family groups has re-launched a petition drive that is expected to gather one million signatures in support of the unborn child and the traditional family.   According to a report by the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM), pro-life and pro-family groups from the U.S., Poland, Spain and other European counties launched the petition last fall and gathered nearly 500,000 signatures which were presented to select Ambassadors at the United Nations (UN) and at a UN press conference that was broadcast throughout UN headquarters. The purpose of the petition is to persuade UN Member States to begin interpreting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as protecting the unborn from abortion and also to recognize traditional marriage and the rights of parents to educate their children. The petition specifically references portions of the Universal Declaration that can be interpreted in pro-life and pro-family ways, such as the statement, “Everyone has the right to life.” It also says that “Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family” and “Parents have the prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.” The petition drive seeks to counter movements by social radicals in recent years who have been pushing the UN to call for an international right for same-sex marriage and for a redefinition of the family to include homosexual couples. They are also pushing to allow homosexual propaganda in schools even against the wishes of parents. Social conservatives point out that many of these radical propositions are in direct opposition to the intention of the drafters of the Universal Declaration and its covenants which were promulgated in 1966. Organizers of the petition drive are now trying to achieve one million signatures, having been inspired by efforts of the Catholic St. Egidio Community of Rome who gathered one million signatures calling for a moratorium on the death penalty that resulted in a successful UN resolution calling for a ban on executions. Petition signatories include C-FAM, Concerned Women for America, United Families International, all from  the United States, along with the Polish Federation of Pro-life Groups and the Spanish Institute for Family Policy. The petition can be signed at http://www.c-fam.org/campaigns/lid.2/default.asp © All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace®  http://www.womenofgrace.com