Hungary’s new constitution recognizes right to life
Hungary’s parliament has passed a new constitution that recognizes both the importance of Christianity and the right to life from the moment of conception.
“God, bless Hungarians,” the constitution preamble begins. “We are proud that our King St. Stephen established the Hungarian state on firm foundations a thousand years ago and made our country a part of Christian Europe.”
“We recognize the role of Christianity in preserving our nationhood. Likewise we appreciate the different religious traditions of our country,” the preamble continues, according to a translation published by the European news site EurActiv.com.
The constitution’s Article II declares that human dignity is “inviolable”:
“Everyone has the right to life and human dignity; the life of a fetus will be protected from conception.”
The constitution bars “eugenic practices” and reproductive cloning as well as non-consensual medical or scientific experiments on humans. It protects marriage between a man and a woman, declaring the family to be “the basis for the survival of the nation.”
However, same-sex couples may legally register partnerships.
Janos Lazar, parliamentary group leader of the ruling center-right Fidesz party, characterized the new constitution as the completion of the democratization process in post-communist Hungary, Reuters reports.
The constitution would repay “those Hungarians who changed the regime and the political players who took part in shaping political life,” he told parliament ahead of the vote. “We are trying to settle that debt.”
The Fidesz party passed the constitution with the help of its smaller allied party, the Christian Democrats, with whom it controls parliament. On April 25, house deputies voted in favor of the text 262 to 44, with one abstention.
The Socialist and green parties opposed the constitution and backed out of negotiations. The far-right Jobbik party also voted against the law. Thousands of protesters have also organized demonstrations.
Officials with the European Union and the United Nations have said that the constitution lacks sufficient checks and balances between the executive and legislative powers. The document would grant excessive power to Fidesz appointees even if the party is voted out, they said.
The constitution’s religious, pro-life and pro-family provisions drew criticism from some international leaders.
Amnesty International, which controversially abandoned its neutrality on abortion in 2007, criticized the right to life provision as a potential threat to the rights of women and girls. It also criticized the provision on marriage for barring the way to “gay marriage,” charging that it violates “international and European anti-discrimination standards.”
Hungary’s new constitution appears unique among modern countries in its focus on moral values
“We undertake to preserve the spiritual and intellectual unity of our nation battered by the storms of the past century,” the constitution’s preamble says. It laments “moral decline” in the twentieth century and declares the “eminent need of spiritual and intellectual renewal.”
The preamble acknowledges the obligation to help the poor and declares “loyalty, faith and love” to be “fundamental values.” It also rejects statute of limitations to the “inhuman crimes” committed under national socialist and communist regimes.
The constitution will take effect on Jan. 1, 2012.
Read more: http://www.ewtnnews.com/catholic-news/World.php?id=3098#ixzz1LYt41zpx
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