Leo van Doesburg

  The debate on abortion was stirred up again after the recent leak of the draft proposal of the US Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. Mainly negative reactions to this news circulated in the media. The debate on abortion has become increasingly subjective where, particularly, the pro-life arguments are marginalized and negatively framed. Last February, we saw this in the European Parliament as well where the FEMM committee (Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality of the European Parliament) held a public hearing on the ‘Countering the anti-gender movement today to secure a gender equal Europe tomorrow’ , a side event of the Future of Europe Conference. As the title of the hearing suggests, this event was a one-sided story on the topic, seeking to invalidate other opinions and attacking several Christian organizations on their pro-life advocacy and promotion of Christian values. The hearing displayed the immaturity of the debate on abortion and gender issues. There is n...

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...

A CALL TO PROTECT THE DIGNITY OF PEOPLE WITH DOWN On the 21 st of March, we celebrated the World Down Syndrome Day at the European Parliament . The activities to honour this day started last week, when the Brussels office of ECPM took part in the  Socks' Battle  that was organized to draw attention to the rights of people, and especially children with Down syndrome. Yesterday, ECPM-MEP Marek Jurek co-hosted with MEP Miroslav Mikolášik a well - attended conference with the title: "Are we in Europe doing our best for the health of people with trisomy 21?" The Conference was addressed by the President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani as well as MEP Pieter Liese. During this conference, I was invited to tell about the NIPT Test that is a serious threath to the future existence of people with Down Syndrome. I also presented a statement we prepared against the use of prenatal testing techniques that target Down syndrome in collaboration with the World Youth A...

The issue of abortion came again in the forefront recently.  In the Polish Parliament, there was  a debate on a  Bill for a str icter ban on abortion. Of course, the pro-ab ortionists used this opportunity to criticize th is effort and to frame the people who want to protect the life of the unborn . I nterestingly, they are also  openly proclaiming that abortion is an EU comp etence  ne glecting the legal limitation s of the EU. One week before , ano ther meeting was org anized in the European Parliament by  the S&D Group where they discussed about what to do with  doctors or midwifes who can not perform abortions be cause of their conscience. The freedo m to choose does not seem to be valid for doctors with an other worldview.  That's why they are  p ushing them to act against  the ir conscience. The pro-abortionists or the so-called, "freedom to choose" movement showed its real face going aga inst f reedom and against democr...

Hearing about the European Citizens Initiative “One of Us” in the European Parliament was a success Human Dignity and the protection of life are not political values but are inviolable and must be respected. “The issue is a simple and logical one: human life exists from conception and therefore should be respected. The European Court of Justice also defined that human embryo starts at conception.  The European Commission should be more consistent with this fact ”explained Gregor Puppink Director of the European Center for Law and Justice and leader of the European Citizens Initiative “One of Us” at the hearing which took place in the European Parliament last Thursday, 10 April. The hearing in the European Parliament had as main target to create a dialogue between the representatives of the Citizens Initiative that collected almost 2 million signatures and the Members of the European Parliament under the supervision of the European Commission that will give an answer on the ...

The European Citizen’s Initiative (ECI) “One of us” has announced today that is has reached the necessary signatures to be introduced as an official petition to the European Commission. The collection of signatures will go on until October 31 st . This ECI, which requires support by at least one million EU citizens from a minimum of 7 EU member states, is an official invitation to the European Commission to introduce a legislative change to suspend EU-funding of embryonic stem cell research. (Source:  European Dignity Watch)

How can a country, that refused abortion three times by referendums, be pressured to legalize it in the name of a Convention which does not enshrine a right to abortion? In Europe, Ireland is a symbol of resistance against abortion.  Nevertheless, Ireland is on the point of giving in to the concerted pressure of the Council of Europe and the pro-abortion lobbies. Irish people have always been firmly opposed to abortion.   Since the 1980s, they have rejected the legalization of abortion three times, while affording equal constitutional protection to the life of the unborn child and that of the mother.  Abortion is therefore always prohibited, except when doctors consider it necessary to save the life of the mother .   However, the Council of Europe is at the heart of a campaign aiming to impose abortion ‘from the top’ onto people who refused it ‘from the bottom’ three times, by referendums in 1983, 1992 and 2002. (Article by: G régor Puppinck. P...

Last Saturday, 19 January, over 25,000 people participated to a pro-life rally that was organized in Dublin. The Vigil For Life event was called to highlight opposition t o a change on abortion legislation as the Irish government considers reform. It is encouraging to see how professionally and well this rally has been organized. Also a counter demonstration of pro-choice activi sts was organized on the same date where just around 200 pe ople participated.   Read here an article from the Irish Central See here a small movieclip about the Rally

B etween August and October 2012 the small Baltic country of Latvia has been the place of a creative and effective Pro-Life campaign aimed at reopening the public debate over abortion, in a country with a very high level of abortion and a law demographic rate. A specific aim of the campaign is also to introduce in the law on sexual and reproductive health the principle that “ the child is protected from the day of conception ” , and to make pre-abortion consultation systematic. This campaign ended on October 16 with an official conference on the “ Protection of the Right to live ” held at the Latvian Parliament; a special attention has been given to the San José Articles by the Secretary of State to Justice and various speakers. (by Grégor Puppinck, Ph.D)

On the 10th October 2012, the European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development organized a meeting entitled "Anti-Choice Opposition in Europe: Recent trends in the global war on women on the European front". This Forum presents itself as a network of MPs from across Europe who are interested in protecting women's sexual and reproductive rights, supporting the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development. During this meeting, a list with the "Top 27 European Anti-choice Personalities" was presented and spread. I was classified as no 15 on this Top 27.  Read my reaction here

On the 5th of July, the European Parliament has  adopted a resolution strongly condemning forced abortions and sterilizations under China's One Child Policy, including the forced abortion at seven months of Feng Jianmei, which occurred last month in Shaanxi Province, China.    Specifically, the resolution, 2012/2712 (RSP)   “strongly condemns the decision to force Ms Feng to have an abortion and condemns the practice of forced abortions and sterilizations globally, especially in the context of the one‑child policy.”   The resolution further states that “the EU has provided, and still provides, funds for organizations involved in family planning policies in China,” and “urges the Commission to ensure that its funding of projects does not breach” the European Parliament’s commitment against coercive population control.    Find the text of the EP resolution  here   (Source: Women's right Without Frontiers)