Parental rights at great risk

Parental rights at great risk
Bill Bumpas - OneNewsNow - 11/15/2010 4:10:00 AM

More GOP voices in the Senate will likely mean greater opposition to any plans President Obama has to have that chamber ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, but a law professor thinks more should be done to protect parents' constitutional rights.

Dr. William Wagner, professor at Cooley Law School and vice-president of ParentalRights.org, tells OneNewsNow he has never seen a greater threat against the rights of parents.

"This sacred, inalienable right of a parent to protect their children through the decisions they make in the best interest of their child has never been more at risk than it is right now in this country," he laments.

Even though he does not believe the U.N. treaty will be ratified, its danger will be looming. So he decides the best course of action is amending the Constitution to include "something that has always been a right in this nation, and that is a right of a parent to control and direct the upbringing of a child, and thereby protect their child."

Dr. Wagner believes that is a crucial step because federal judges are feeling embolden to usurp parents' authority as they "are citing international law and international precedence, and again, even citing this treaty as authority to affirm federal action or affirm government decisions on behalf of their children."

ParentalRights.org anticipates 156 co-sponsors in the House on the proposed parental rights amendment when the 112th Congress convenes in January.