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...

  In the end of last year, a far-reaching resolution was adopted in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on the “Gender Aspects and Human Rights Implications of Pornography”. The resolution was accompanied by a report . The conclusion is clear: pornography and its industry are harmful. In the resolution, the Parliamentary Assembly condemns pornography and calls upon its members to protect human rights and gender equality, to ban public porn advertisement and block porn websites in the workplace and public institutions among others. The accompanying report extensively highlights the connection between pornography and violence against women and human trafficking; and stresses the negative effects on men, women, and particularly young people. Although some critique and concern remain, this resolution and report should put the issue of pornography back on the agenda and start a debate among politicians and policymakers to rethink and reconsider the vision on porn...

  On the 9 th of March, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on ‘foreign interference in all democratic processes in the European Union, including disinformation’ . Although the issue of foreign interference in EU politics is an important topic, the resolution contains some problematic passages which might have serious consequences for Christians and organizations advocating pro-life and family values. These passages pertain to the depiction of opposing opinions on controversial issues as disinformation and hate speech. Furthermore, the resolution calls for measures against religious institutions when instrumentalized to promote foreign states’ interest. Without proper and irrefutable evidence, this risks to harm religious freedoms. Necessary awareness on these matters is advised.

  Today is the European Day on the Protectionof Children   against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, an initiative by the Council of Europe. This year’s European Day focuses on preventing risky behaviour by children through child self-generated sexual images and/or videos. The COVID crisis has unfortunately exacerbated the problem of child sexual abuse, as the "EU Strategy for a Most Effective Fight Against Child Sex Abuse" highlighted.   Children are spending more time than before online, possibly unsupervised. While this has allowed them to continue their studies and not fall behind in the education process, there are signs that they are at an increased risk of encountering predators.   Actions to address these problems are therefore needed. To that end, on the 9th of December, ECPM Member of the European Parliament Helmut Geuking , as co-chair of the European Parliament Intergroup on Demographic Challenges, Family-Work Balance and Youth Transitions, will ...

Now it is up to the Romanian Voters to vote on the 6th or the 7th of October. More than two years ago, 3 million Romanians requested a referendum to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Finally, the hurdles for the organization of the referendum were removed. After the last vote in the Romanian senate with 107 votes in favour, 13 against and 7 abstentions and following the approval of the Romanian Constitutional Court, the Government set the date for the referendum: the 6th and the 7th of October. If there is a majority for YES with a minimum turnout of 6 million (30% of 18 million voters), then the constitution will be amended. Following Croatia and Slovenia, now also in Romania a Citizens’ Initiative has been established to request an amendment to the constitution so that marriage can be defined as a   union between one man and one woman. In both Slovenia and Croatia, the referendum took place and has resulted in amendments to the   constitution. The...

The 18 th of October is the 10 th EU Anti Trafficking day. This  day is an opportunity to reflect on our anti-trafficking policies and a call for more targeted action. Last Tuesday, as General Secretary of the European Parliament Working Group on Human Dignity, I was involved in organizing an event on Human Dignity with the title "Combating Human Trafficking”. It was a very fruitful meeting that showed that there is substantial interest across political groups in the European Parliament on this issue. The event was hosted by MEPs Bastiaan Belder (ECR,  Chair of the Steering Committe of the Working Group ) and Diane Dodds (NA). Keynote speakers were: Lord Maurice Morrow  (Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly)  who tabled the latest law on prostitution in Northern Ireland based on criminalizing the client, Maria Vassiliadou, (EU anti-trafficking coordinator) and Frits Rouvoet (Director of Brightfame Foundation) who helps prostitutes in Amsterdam to leave prosti...

Yesterday, as Secretary General of the European Parliament Working Group on Human Dignity, I helped to organize (together with the offices of MEPs Bas Belder and Luigi Morgano) and participated in an event of the Working Group  with the title "Refugees and Human Dignity". It was a very successful event  that offered to all participants new insights on the situation of refugees in Europe. Seven Members of the European Parliament as well as representatives of different NGOs, Parliamentarian assistants and experts participated to this meeting. You can read below the official press release that was issued after the event.

Last Wednesday, I participated in an event organised by the European Parliament Working Group on Human Dignity with the title "Elderly and Palliative Care", a Group in which I am honored to serve as a Secretary General. It was a very substantive and fruitful meeting. I am confident that the work of the Working Group will continue in a very successful manner. After the meeting, the following press release was issued.

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...

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 ...

Despite the adoption of a  resolution on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights  on 10 December 2013 by the European Parliament (EP), there is currently a new attempt to push through what has become known as the “Estrela Agenda”: abortion on demand, restriction of freedom of conscience, compulsory sex education at primary and secondary school etc. Source: 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 )

There is no doubt that Christianity had a great impact on the start of European cooperation in the 20th centrury. The European project was initiated by founding fathers who, inspired by the Christian faith, had a vision to promote peace and reconciliation in Europe. To what extent is the European Union, more than half a century later, still driven by this vision? And what are the contemporary currents for a new Christian paradigm in an age of social and economic confusion?   The European Christian Political Movement warmly invites you to "The Impact of Christian Thinking on the European Project: Past, Present & Future" European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium, 3 December 13:30-17:00  hrs For more information click here   |   To Register click here . ============================================================== Agenda: 13:30-15:00  Founding Fathers: How Christian inspiration led to peace and...

On 8 October, the European Parliament will vote on the important report: "Gendercide: the missing women" of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality" by rapporteur: Antigoni Papadopoulou. Gendercide is a global issue of concern everywhere pregnant women, on purpose or under pressure, decide not to give birth to girl foetuses.   Read here a study of the European Parliament on "Gendercide: Missing Women" Although the Papadopoulou report has many positive aspects, five important amendments were tabled by Anna Záborská, Christa Klaß, Teresa Jiménez-Becerril Barrio, Gay Mitchell, José Ignacio Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra, Peter van Dalen and 82 other MEP’s. The five amendments give a clearer stance on the ‘ human right to conscientious objection’ and one of the amendments explicitly recalls the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, whereby every child, regardless of sex, has the right to appropriate legal protection before as well a...

On the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, the feast day of Rome, politicians, clergy and NGOs from across the world met in the Eternal City to discuss one of the most important issues of or time, with the rise of militant secularism, how do we affirm the ‘Role of Christians in the Public Square’? This event was followed by a reception to mark the official launch of the international Rome office of the Dignitatis Humanae Institute. (Source: Dignitatis Humanae Institute)

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)  

The resolution against homophobia – or better: the resolution on public control of the individual and collective mind-set of citizens in Europe passed as expected in plenary vote yesterday in Strasbourg. As EDW reported on Wednesday , the resolution is highly problematic. One point of particular concern is the pressure that this resolution puts on member states to legalize same-sex marriage – an area that is wholly outside of the competences of the EU.The text was voted with the overwhelming majority of 430 for, 105 against and 59 abstentions. Check here how your MEP voted.  The most scandalous part of the resolution is, however, the way it was put on the political agenda of the European Parliament.  (Source  European Dignity Watch )

WHY THE LEFT-LIBERAL PUSH IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AGAINST CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT BOOST DEMOCRACY  Following the recent protests that took place in Hungary, the social-liberal opposition in Romania also pushed people in the street today using spontaneous demonstrations that have been held earlier days this week. This comes as a second attempt to the one that unfolded last year, when buses with demonstrators were brought to the Constitutional Square to demonstrate when the Romanian Parliament was discussing the third motion of no confidence. By coincidence, it happened that I had meetings in the Romanian Parliament that same day. The Romanian Military Police did not want to let me in, because some of the demonstrators in the parliament balcony had thrown something down. The Military Police got an order not to let any stranger in the parliament. Eventually I fortunately succeeded and after the meeting I went to the balcony to see the parliamentary debate abou...

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...