...Natural law, supposedly, derives from objective moral laws that arise from the “universal nature of human beings,” which is created by God. Natural rights are those related rights that are inherent in human nature and given by God—which means that this new Commission rests on the assumption that the framework of international human rights that has evolved over the past few decades exceeds natural law and natural rights.

By narrowing rights to natural law and natural rights, the Commission can remake the official view of human rights into a contracted reflection of a particular conservative religious stance. Within a framework of natural law as envisioned by the Commission, gay sex, abortion and contraception may be morally wrong; thus, no right to them can exist. Socio-economic rights may not exist either, nor the right to request asylum. The Commission’s findings may also decrease the likelihood of the U.S. speaking out on LGBTQ human rights abuses, such as we’re seeing in Poland, around the world.

...A pluralistic secular democracy cannot impose old standards of homogeneity—not that the U.S. was ever homogenous, nor was it ever a Christian nation. Religious freedom has always meant that we have to live together and respect one another within a context of a shared value of public spirit.

...Seeking a return to natural law and natural rights, as defined by conservative Christians, is not an act of supporting religious liberty; rather, it is the opposite. It is an attempt to impose the belief system of a narrow faction of one religion on a pluralistic U.S. public and the rest of the world. This Commission is a dangerous enterprise that threatens human rights progress and perverts the notion of religious liberty for political gain.