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Air Date: June 30, 2014
Host: Jim Schneider
Guest: Will Estrada
Will Estrada is the Director of Federal Relations with the Home School Legal Defense Association. He is a home school graduate who went on to get his Juris Doctor degree. He joined HSLDA in 2004 and is HSLDA’s representative on Capitol Hill. He is an advocate for all home schoolers before Congress and federal departments. He is also an advocate before Congress for the Parental Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. He is a member of the U.S. Supreme Court bar and the California bar.
Will was at the Supreme Court for this morning’s ruling where in a 5-4 decision, the court ruled that Hobby Lobby and other closely held, for-profit corporations cannot be forced by the federal government to provide abortion inducing drugs and violate their sincerely held religious beliefs.
The other issue discussed involved the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Treaty. Will is particularly concerned about Article 7 of the treaty which says: ‘In all actions concerning children with disabilities, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.’
According to Will, in the U.S. system of law there are only two times when ‘best interests of the child’ is used by a court. It’s used when a parent is found by a court to be guilty of abuse or neglect. The second time it’s used is when a court is dealing with a custody dispute in a divorce.
There’s a line of U.S. Supreme Court cases dating back to 1925 (Pierce v. Society of Sisters) which said that the right of parents to direct the education and upbringing of their children is a fundamental right.
So why are some of our legislators courting the idea that we need to partner with the U.N. via this treaty? Will this treaty actually help disabled American citizens when they travel abroad? Does it do anything beyond U.S. disability laws, laws that are already the best in the world? How would it affect home schoolers? Get the answers to these questions and more when you review this edition of Crosstalk.
More Information
To communicate with your legislators regarding the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Treaty call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
For more information, and to stay informed on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, go to the Home School Legal Defense Association website:
