NEWSLETTER JUNE 2021

The present-day advancement of the culture of death is neither untouchable nor final – it can be stopped and reversed if politicians, who respect human dignity and the value of life articulate it assertively, intelligently and boldly. Or, in other words: the defense of life can advance even in the worst scenarios if there is political will and proactive realism. The proof of this are the two cases presented in the most recent edition of the Transatlantic Dialogues webinar series of Political Network for Values (PNfV): the Heartbeat Bill from Iowa, United States, and the abolition of eugenic abortion in Poland.

In the digital colloquium held on May 28 under the title "Political advancements protecting human life: two successful experience", Amy Sinclair, Republican State Senator from Iowa, explained the origin, development and consequences of the innovative law that restricts abortion in her state from the moment the heartbeat of the fetus can be detected. Despite being blocked by a local court, it generated a domino effect that reached another 12 states and reached the doors of the US Supreme Court as well. Piotr Uściński (PiS), member of the Lower House of the Polish Parliament and President of the Parliamentary Group for Life and Family, detailed the reasons that led 119 legislators from three parties to present an appeal to the Polish Constitutional Court in order to eliminate the main legal cause of abortion in the country.

Neither of the initiatives completely prohibits abortion, yet both achieved the greatest possible good in their own circumstances. In Iowa, for the law to pass in the Senate it was necessary to include some exceptions and focus on the protection of the baby, not on his dignity, but on a fact that conquered the required majority: the fetal heartbeat, under the logic of where a heart beats, there is life. In Poland, facing the impossibility of passing laws limiting abortion in Parliament, they rather prosecuted one of the three causes of legal abortion. One may ask, then why not all of them? Because the chance that the challenge would be rejected when contesting all was very high. So, they opted for the motion of unconstitutionality of eugenic abortions, which was the reason for 9 out of 10 abortions in the country.

Both Senator Sinclair and MP Uściński stressed that they consider any intentional abortion a crime and explained that the two initiatives should be seen as a part of the process that seeks the full recognition of the right to life. The results are: today, Iowa is one of the states with the strictest regulations on abortion in the United States, and Poland is one of the countries with the greatest limitations on this practice in the European Union.

In the dialogue after the presentations by Senator Sinclair and MP Uściński, Ángela Gandra, Brazilian State Secretary of the Family reported two bills that the government of President Jair Bolsonaro will present to Congress: one establishes the National Day of Unborn Children and Abortion Risks Awareness, and another creates National Day of Responsible Parenthood.

Also taking the floor were María Rosario Guerra, Colombian Senator, Lourdes Méndez Monasterio, Member of the Spanish Lower House; Cristina Fiore Viñuales, Member of the Salta Province Lower House, in Argentina; Diego Garcia, Congressman and President of the Parliamentary Front for Life and the Family in the Federal Congress of Brazil; Jude Njomo, Member of the National Assembly of Kenya; Jorge Pinheiro, Councilor of Fortaleza, Brazil, and Felipe Ross, Councilor of the Commune of Vitacura, Chile.

More than 18 political representatives participated in the event (including the Spanish Georgina Trías, Member of the Spanish Lower House, Gador Joya, Deputy of the Madrid Assembly; Carmen Domínguez, co-founder of the Republican Party in Chile, Egidijus Vareikis, diplomat from Lithuania, José Chaverri, diplomat from Costa Rica, and Luis Peral, former Spanish Senator, and 50 citizen leaders from 17 countries in Africa, America and Europe: Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Spain, United States, Hungary, Kenya, Lithuania, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Poland.

You can watch the full video of the webinar here or read the summary that our communication team prepared for you here. In addition, you can download on this link or at the end of this newsletter a dossier that we have prepared for you, in which Senator Sinclair and MP Uściński further elaborate the two initiatives they led in their respective countries. There is also an analysis included with 5 lessons that we can learn from both cases and the links to the full texts of the Heartbeat Bill and the Polish constitutional appeal.

For your information: next Friday, June 18, Transatlantic Dialogues will address the experience of a decade of successful application of family policies application in Hungary.

The results of the elections of Peru and Mexico. Last Sunday, June 6, the second round of the presidential election took place in Peru, while in Mexico the Lower House of the Federal Congress, local congresses and city councils were voted for. The elections held in both countries had one element in common: voters chose between freedom and authoritarianism.

In Peru, the Communist Pedro Castillo and the liberal Keiko Fujimori are contesting the Presidency vote by vote. The official results, with 98% of the cast votes counted, place Castillo with 50.32% of valid votes, and Fujimori with 49.67%. The difference between the two is minimal, only 0.65%. Challenges to the process are likely, both Castillo and Fujimori have denounced irregularities during the voting. If the candidate of the leftist Peru Libre, affiliated with the São Paulo Forum, is confirmed as the winner and applies the program they announced in the campaign, we will witness an attempt to “reformulate” the country from its foundations – destroying its institutions, calling for a Constituent Assembly and concentrating power in the hands of the most radical left in the country. If the candidate of Fuerza Popular wins through the judicialization of the election, they can expect to have a weak government under constant suspicion of illegitimacy, subject to intense pressure and facing a “molecular revolution”, similar to the ones we have seen in Colombia and Chile. In both cases, the country will experience an extraordinarily delicate situation, but the first scenario is clearly more serious than the second one.

In case of Mexico, what was at stake was, above all, the control of the Chamber of Deputies of the Federal Congress. President Manuel Andrés López Obrador wanted his party, the National Regeneration Movement (Morena), achieve total control of the Lower House with a qualified majority (two-thirds, 334 of the 500 deputies) to introduce changes to the Constitution that would allow him, for example, to be reelected and to have a greater concentration of power. It did not work out. Morena lost 50 deputies and was left with 203. Before, the party alone had simple majority, now for this they would need 95 more seats, which they hope to have from their allied parties. The second most votes went to the Conservative National Action Party (PAN), which instead of 79, now it will have 117 deputies in the Chamber. A good part of these results is the product of an intense citizen effort that, in the face of the totalitarian threat, opted for using the most simple and pure tactic: the useful vote. Thousands of organizations promoted voting in each electoral district for the candidate who had the best chance of defeating Morena’s candidate. The result was positive, but below expectations as the opposition didn’t obtain majority in the Lower House. Regarding the protection and promotion of life, the family and fundamental freedoms, the outlook is still uncertain because there are several candidates with a doubtful profile who have now acquired seats in the Lower House. We will only get the definitive answers in the coming months.

I prepared a more detailed analysis on the two elections, you can read it here .

In the spotlight: the European Union promotes ideological agenda. Various organs of the European Union (EU) continue to promote an ideological agenda that seeks to impose abortion and the gender agenda on Member States. Here are two serious examples: the Commission on Women's Rights and Gender Equality of the European Parliament (FEMM) approved in May the controversial Matić Report, which claims that free and unrestricted abortion should be declared a fundamental right. It wants to achieve, among other things, that member states repeal conscientious objection and that Comprehensive Sexuality Education be available in schools. The European Parliament will vote on the report on June 23. Our network sent a letter of reservations to the FEMM Committee denouncing that the report profoundly violates human rights. Read the letter here.

Besides this, the EU bureaucracy seeks to approve a commercial and development treaty with 79 countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, which renews the Cotonou Agreement, signed in 2000, adding new aspects to the comprehensive treaty that include environmental protection, human rights and migration, among others. When reading the proposed text in detail, there are clauses that condition the disbursement of support to the recognition of abortion under the euphemism of "sexual and reproductive rights", the promotion of gender ideology together with the Comprehensive Sexuality Education and the recognition of new rights derived from gender identity and sexual orientation. The Hungarian government has already announced that it will not consent to the treaty in this form and will do everything possible to block it, considering these and other demands – such as migration – a violation of the sovereignty of the peoples.

In addition, it proactively promoted the creation, on May 13, of a Coalition for the Family with the 3 other countries of the V4 cooperation: Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic. This is a very important step in resisting the abuses in Brussels and a powerful sign of hope for European families.

If you live in any of the countries that make up the European Union, please take action and ask your government and your MEPs to reject the Matić Report and demand the withdrawal of the controversial clauses in the Post-Cotonou Agreement.

In the followings you will find other information that may be of further interest.