Leo van Doesburg

Redefining family in Holland I received a lot of questions on whether same-sex marriages have an influence on the redefinitions of the institute of family in the Netherlands and if so, to what extent.  The Dutch Government believed that the Dutch society had changed considerably during the past decades. For this reason, they established a State Committee to re-evaluate parenthood. The report of the State Committee called "Child and Parents in the 21st century" was presented in 2016. The most important aim of this report was to equal the genetical bond between the parents and the child with the intention to parenthood. Therefore, they called for a redefinition of parenthood. Besides this, the reports calls for the establishment of juridical frameworks for different forms of families. Additionally, the report calls for the legalization of multiple parenthood (but with a limit to four parents with two different households) and for a regulation of surrogacy. The ...

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...

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.

We want to have Human Rights for All, Not Special Rights for One Shortly after the Estrela report was defeated, a new initiative has been introduced, the “Lunacek Report” officially known as “EU Roadmap against homophobia and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity” (2013/2183). Adopted by the European Parliament Committee for Civil Liberties (LIBE), the European Parliament will vote on this report next week on 4 February. I agree when the Report asserts that LGBTI persons should have the same human rights as everyone else. This is an assertion that can be fully supported. The very purpose of Human Rights, the European Convention and other international human rights documents is to grant a minimum level of protection of the integrity of every person because everyone has equal worth and dignity. However, the Lunacek Report turns this fundamental equality upside down by claiming that specific LGBTI rights should now be considered as human...

A couple of months ahead of the European Elections, the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) of the European Parliament prepares a report that is likely to meet very diverging opinions across the EU as it clearly oversteps the competencies of the EU and thereby tramples on the principle of subsidiarity.   Austrian MEP Ulrike Lunacek, Vice President of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on LGBT Rights , is the rapporteur of a report “ on the EU Roadmap against homophobia and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity” . The title sounds familiar as it recalls the name of a study published by the European Parliament in 2012, with the contribution of the European LGBTI lobby ILGA Europe , called “Towards an EU roadmap for equality on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity” . (Source: Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe, FAFCE)