Leo van Doesburg

Despite opposition from activists pro-choice organisations, the new law proposal has drawn a large positive attention worldwide. In total, 135 international organisations and 33 Slovakian organisations have signed a letter of support for the Slovakian legislative initiative that aims to strengthen the protection of pregnant women. This law has been initiated by a team of 13 Deputies from O’Lano and the Krestanska Unia (Christian Union). You can find a summary of this law here   The signatories come not only from many European countries, but also from Latin America and Africa; it is remarkable the support coming from all over the world. The full text of the letter is as follows: To whom it may concern We, the undersigned NGOs, are writing to ask the Members of the Slovak Parliament to support the Draft Law which Amends and Supplements Act No. 576/2004 Coll. of Laws on Healthcare, Healthcare-related Services. The protection of life, health and human dignity which this law...

W omen who are unintentionally getting pregnant can face a lot of pressure to terminate their pregnancy. There can be economic pressure in providing for the child, but also pressure from partner, family or teachers. A new law is being voted in Slovakia this week which updates the current legislative framework, the main goal being to help women make informed choices and to increase support for them. This law has been initiated by Member of Parliament Anna Záborská (Christian Union, Slovakia). In order to reduce the economic pressure on pregnant women, the law proposes the following: Possibility to obtain financial support after the 4 th month of pregnancy to cover for increased expenses due to the pregnancy. Governmental financial help from childbirth, with no administrative barriers (until now the child had to be alive at least 28 days after birth to be eligible for financial support). The law is also proposing to extend financial aid to all children born in Slovakia. The financia...

ECPM MEPs  expressed their concerns about the new law on religious communities that was adopted in Montenegro in the beginning of this year. In a statement , they call on the government of Montenegro to abide by and implement the recommendations of the Venice Commission     and to refrain from using violence against its citizens. It also asked the European Commission to closely monitor the performance of the government of Montenegro regarding freedom of religion, as it constitutes an essential element of the EU accession.  But what has happened in Montenegro? Why does this new law raise concerns on the Freedom of Religion in Montenegro? Read  here an analysis of my colleague Lefteris Kaloterakis. 

On the 21st of March, we are celebrating the  World Down Syndrome Day . Unfortunately , the c orona virus crisis we are currently facing has left its impact on the different celebrations that were planned. Nevertheless, it remains an important cause to mark and it is good to discuss our responsibilities towards our fellow human beings with Down s yndrome and to evaluate the European policies. It is encouraging that 108 Members of the European Parliament signed a declaration that demands better rights for persons with Down s yndrome giving an important call to action.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has reaffirmed that Member States has an obligation to ensure non-discrimination in the workplace based on the grounds or religion or belief in an adopted resolution , based on the report    of Davo Stier (EPP/CD). PACE called on Member States to “promote a culture of tolerance and ‘living together' in a religiously pluralist society” , while ensuring that “the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion is respected”. The fact that freedom of religion and conscience on the workplace has been reaffirmed is a very positive development. This is in line with previous resolutions and international documents that are calling the Member States to promote reasonable accommodation. It is an "adjustment made in a system to accommodate or make an individual exception based on a proven need" . The United Nations use this term in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities "   supporting the vi...

At the end of 2018, ECPM Member and Senator Rónán Mullen 's report in the Council of Europe on Providing Palliative Care has been adopted the end of last year. This report affirms that Palliative Care is fundamental to human dignity and a component of the human right to health. Palliative care aims at the quality of life of both patients and their families. The Council of Europe asks the Member States to recognize palliative care as a human right and fully integrate it into their health-care system and to dedicate the necessary resources to it.  The Assembly deeply regrets that on the organisation of palliative care, hundreds of thousands of people in Europe still do not have access to appropriate palliative care services and is concerned about the lack of access to appropriate pain relief leading to situations in which patients suffer for months and even years and experience avoidable painful deaths.  Furthermore, the Governments should remove all obstacles that restr...

Human Dignity & Christian Social Teaching as basis for Christian Democracy In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the values of dignity and equality are considered to be the basis for Human Rights. "Human dignity" is also mentioned in many political speeches by both left as right-wing politicians. But what is actually the definition of Human Dignity? Generally "human dignity" is more and more defined as "being human". But is this correct to put the human being itself as a standard? Is this really the correct meaning for human dignity? Further we will investigate how the issue of dignity has evolved in  history and how the core value of human dignity played a crucial role in the development of Christian Democracy and how dignity is related to liberalism. Moreover, we will try to answer the question how Christian values influenced the definition of Human Dignity and how did this influence the development of economy and capitalism in Europe? ...

On Tuesday 19 September, the Spanish Congress will vote on a controversial new LGBTI Non-Discrimination and Equality. Although I am against discrimination, this Bill goes so far that fundamental freedoms as the freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief are in serious jeopardy.  The European Dignity Watch published an  excellent and detailed article that I gladly (with permission of the author Roxana Stanciu) like to share.  The EDW is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation based in Brussels and is active in the protection of human dignity and family.

A short review of the ethical and human rights issues related to surrogacy Introduction   On the 2 nd and the 3 rd of May the organization ‘Men having Babies’ (MHB) organized a controversial meeting in Brussels. MHB is an LGBTI (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transsexual and Intersex) friendly organization that wants to enable gay couples to have children. Of course this is naturally impossible, so they use the services of surrogate mothers who carry the child of one of the men. Simply by browsing on their website  you can see that for a bit more than 100000 US dollars you can proceed with 'obtaining' your own child. Usually these processes take place in developing countries like India. Lately, many groups and movements (especially those that are LGBTI related) are pushing for a legal framework that allows and facilitates surrogacy. For example, the rapporteur on a report on surrogacy by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE); someone who supposedly ha...

The Council of Europe's Health Committee postpones discussion of a Report on Surrogacy Last Monday, PACE’s Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development decided to postpone a discussion of a draft report on Surrogacy Motherhood, “Human Rights and ethical issues related to surrogacy” . Th is is good news, b ecause there are many questions bout the pos ition of the rapporteur .  The rapporteur, Belgian senator Petra de Sutter [1] openly confirms that she is involved in surrogacy practices in the Belgian hospital where she works [2] . The motion of the resolution asked the rapporteur to actually investigate dangers that surrogacy pose to human dignity, e.g. of the woman carrier as her body and its reproductive function is commercialized. Additionally, the same resolution states that “the practice of surrogacy also disregards the rights and human dignity of the child by effectively turning the baby in question into a product” and that therefore “the Parl...

The European Parliament is about to vote on two reports that contain paragraphs that promote a so-called “right to abortion”. If these paragraphs are adopted, the European Parliament would both express support for abortion on behalf of the EU and overstep the competence of the EU, thereby treading on the principle of subsidiarity. I ask everyone to take action against these two controversial reports to be discussed and voted in the European Parliament next week.  Source: FAFCE (Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe)

After a months-long intense debate about the ‘Report on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights’ (also called the Estrela report), a symbolic fight has been won today for democracy, for children, and for life. A majority of the European Parliament have just rejected the highly controversial report (with 334 votes in favour, 327 against and 35 abstentions). This is a historic setback for the abortion lobby and all their related stakeholders, as they have well-oiled machineries, huge EU-funded budgets and, therefore, great power of impact in political agenda setting. ( Source European Dignity Watch )

On October 22, the majority of the European Parliament voted to refer back the controversial Report on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (also called the Estrela report) back to the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM Committee). The reason behind the referral was that the text as presented at that time was considered to be unacceptable and revision was recommended in order to seek consensus among political groups. Surprisingly, however, the Estrela report is back again on the agenda of the plenary session in the European Parliament, with just some minor changes. Not only were the serious concerns expressed by the democratic majority of the Parliament rejected by the supporters of the Report, but the Chair of the FEMM Committee breached the Rules of Procedures to avoid any amendments being tabled in the Committee and before the plenary vote.   Who is ruling in Europe? The ideological agenda of certain Pro-Choice movements, supported by the interes...

I ncreasing international concern has been voiced throughout the last few years regarding the growing religious discrimination against Christians within EU borders and beyond. ECPM has been closely following the developments in such instances and has actively participated in drawing attention to these issues. A few cases from the UK, however, have become the center of attention as their appeal against the UK government has reached the European Court of Human Rights.    Judgment in the cases of four UK Christians will be handed down at the ECHR in Strasbourg on Tuesday 15th January 2013 at 09:00 UK time (10:00 Central European Time).   Based on Update from the Christian Legal Center

Four British Christians who claim they lost their jobs as a result of discrimination against their beliefs are taking their cases to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). They include an airline worker stopped from wearing a cross and a counsellor who refused to deal with gay couples.  All four lost separate employment tribunals relating to their beliefs.Secular critics have said any ruling in favour of the group could "seriously undermine" UK equality law. A ruling is not expected from the ECtHR for several weeks.  The ECPM is concerned about these cases which involve British Airways check-in clerk Nadia Eweida, nurse Shirley Chaplin, relationship counsellor Gary McFarlane and registrar Lilian Ladele. (Please find the article from the BBC Please read here the whole article and more information about the cases , find the article from the BBC here )

On 23 December, the ECPM and its youth association the ECPYN sent an open letter to the Belarusian ambassadors. Based on the latest developments, both organisations are very worried about the unexpected detentions of political activists that occurred this week. One year after the peaceful demonstrations, followed by extremely harsh measures by the Belarusian authorities, it looks like similar tactics are being used again by the Belarusian government to silence members of the opposition. The open letter is listed below  

At a meeting of the European Parliament Platform for Secularism in Politics (EPPSP) on 29 June 2011, there was an unexpected and controversial debate on the role of secularism and religion within the public sphere, where strong views were expressed on both sides. The debate centered on Article 17 of the Lisbon Treaty which commits the European Union (EU) to an open and transparent dialogue with churches and religious associations/ communities in Member States and whether it is right to enshrine such a commitment in the Treaty. (Source European Dignity Watch: www.Europeandignitywatch.org) 

T wo important reports have been voted in this week's plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg: the non-funding of EU development programs that include coercive abortions and other human right's abuses; and, sadly, a change of the concept of paternity leave, taking as its criterion the relationship of the partner to the mother rather - as the word itself suggests - of the partner to the child. This opens up "paternity" leave explicitly for lesbian couples. Source: Human Dignity Watch European Parliament confirms the non-funding of coercive abortion During this week’s Plenary Session in Strasbourg, the European Parliament voted on the general budget of the European Union for 2011. Several amendments regarding specific criterion for the EU's funding of development programs were decided. Parliament confirmed by a majority vote the EU's refusal to fund development programs, NGOs or governments that participate in forced abortions, sterilizations or...

I was surprised to learn about the strong pressure on the Macedonian government following the adoption of the new anti-discrimination law that does not mention sexual orientation. It is interesting that these emotional discussions mainly base themselves on vague terms like “European values” and “European standards”. Even the European Commission reminded Macedonia that its anti-discrimination legislation should be in line with the “Charter of Fundamental Rights”, part of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty. What was interesting was that the Charter was only used for Article 21 (where “Sexual orientation” is protected). The consequences for other rights like “the freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Art. 10 of the Charter) or for the “Freedom of Expression and information” (Art. 11 of the Charter) were mainly forgotten in these discussions. Furthermore I found it strange that the pressure did not start from Macedonian society, but mainly from abroad: from ambassadors, certain European Parliam...