Resolution Affirming Human Rights for All

Adopted by the Board of Directors
September 27, 2015 | Chicago, IL
Resolution 2015-001

The American Humanist Association affirms the worth and dignity of all persons. This worth arises from the self-awareness, the capacity to love and suffer, and the great longing we all have to flourish. The importance and urgency of providing these rights to all people is that much greater in the context of an amazing yet uncaring universe in which we have just one relatively short life to experience all that we can. We also respect our limited control on the universe and include as part of human rights the need for humility and acceptance as we and our loved ones reach our inevitable ends.

This resolution addresses selected areas of human rights but does not attempt to be comprehensive. Timely human rights issues of concern addressed here are Death with Dignity, Freedom of Conscience and Belief, Sexual Orientation and Gender Expression, and Family Planning.

The following prior resolutions are now encapsulated in this new resolution, in addition to the other concepts:

  • 1959-089 Resolution on the Right to Personality
  • 1960-082 Resolution on Overpopulation
  • 1963-117 Resolution on Government Research in Birth Control
  • 1972-055 Resolution on Funeral Customs
  • 1972-058 Resolution on the Human Environment and Population Control
  • 1974-156 A Plea for Beneficent Euthanasia
  • 1993-019 Resolution on Dr. Jack Kevorkian
  • 1995-016 Contract with the Future
  • 2003-003 Opposition to Capital Punishment

WHEREAS the American Humanist Association affirms the worth and dignity of every human being, and

WHEREAS the American Humanist Association affirms the human rights values expressed in the Humanist Manifesto III (2003) and the UN Declaration on Human Rights;

Family Planning

WHEREAS a person is defined by their personality, their capacity to love and suffer, and by their aspiration for personal fulfillment, and not by any supernatural soul or mechanical life support system of their bodies, and

WHEREAS humans in very early stages of development have not developed personalities, capacities to love, nor aspirations for personal fulfillment, and

WHEREAS the responsibility of bearing and raising a child is arguably the most important, difficult, and rewarding challenge a human can choose, and personal fulfillment is not possible without the freedom to choose or choose not to bear a child, and

WHEREAS the growing human civilization has long since created great burdens on our environment and many children are growing up without the love and care they so deserve;

the AMERICAN HUMANIST ASSOCIATION

AFFIRMS the right of pregnant women to terminate their pregnancy at any time and of those women to have easily-accessible, professional medical care to do so, and

Sexual Orientation and Gender Expression

WHEREAS sexuality is a component of human personality and lives important from an evolutionary perspective that has significant biological and emotional consequences, and

WHEREAS sexuality, including the emotional, interpersonal, and biological functions, implications, risks, and opportunities, are almost entirely mysterious to humans in the absence of clear, candid, science-based, and compassionate education;

the AMERICAN HUMANIST ASSOCIATION

AFFIRMS the right of every person to be affirmed in the sexual orientation and gender expression that best fit their personality, including expressions which may be singular, multiple, unclear, or none at all, and

AFFIRMS the right of all persons to have scientific and clear education on sexual conduct and contraception as the most fundamental guarantor of medical health, flourishing families, and healthy sexual lives;

Freedom of Conscience and Belief

WHEREAS the human capacity for reason, self-determination, and self-affirmation are critical to the human condition and ought therefore to be expressed fully and responsibly, and

WHEREAS religions, conscience, values, and beliefs range from noble to deplorable, and, from a logical and moral perspective, all beliefs cannot be accommodated in all circumstances;

the AMERICAN HUMANIST ASSOCIATION

AFFIRMS the right of every person to hold and express their beliefs and to live according to their values contingent upon and subordinate to the protection of other human rights, and

DECRIES the infliction of the values, conscience, beliefs, or religion of one group upon another by force of will, arms, law, or any other coercive means;

End of Life

WHEREAS humans currently face mortality by many avenues, the ends of our lives are inevitable and relatively soon, and

WHEREAS allowing suffering, especially of a dying person, when it could be prevented and it is the wish of that person that their suffering be prevented, is torture and detestable to the human condition, and

WHEREAS governments, including the United States, have repeatedly executed the innocent, such errors, past and future, are irreversible, and there is no such thing as a humane execution;

the AMERICAN HUMANIST ASSOCIATION

AFFIRMS the responsibility of every person to be educated about and to plan for their own deaths to avoid leaving life and death decisions to their families in a difficult time, and

AFFIRMS the right of every person to choose death when the dignity, value, and satisfaction of life is impossible despite currently available therapies, and

AFFIRMS those family members and doctors who have the courage and compassion to make the terrible but sometimes most beneficial decision to hasten death on behalf of a person who through mental or physical deterioration has already lost their capacity decide on their own, and

DECRIES the death penalty for any crime in any circumstance.