The protection of the right to life and human dignity from the moment of conception. "Human dignity shall be inviolable. Everyone shall have the right to life and human dignity; the life of the fetus shall be protected from the moment of conception." (Article II)
Protection of the family and the institution of heterosexual marriage. (1) Hungary shall protect the institution of marriage, understood to be the conjugal union of a man and a woman based on their independent consent; Hungary shall also protect the institution of the family, which it recognises as the basis for survival of the nation. (2) Hungary shall promote the commitment to have and raise children. (Article K)
The condemnation of practices aimed at eugenics. “Practices aimed at eugenics, the use of the human body or its parts for financial gain, or human cloning shall be prohibited.” (Article III)
The Reaffirmation of the Underlying Christian Values of the Hungarian State and Society. The Preamble declares Hungary is “proud that one thousand years ago its King, Saint Stephen, based the Hungarian State on solid foundations, and made the country a part of Christian Europe.” Moreover, Hungary explicitly “acknowledges the role that Christianity has played in preserving the nation”. (Preamble)
The Cooperation between Church and State. "In Hungary the State and the churches shall be separated. Churches shall be independent. For the attainment of community goals, the State shall cooperate with the churches." (Article VI)
The country's governing Fidesz party pushed the law through parliament in April 2011 after winning a two-thirds majority in parliamentary elections. On January 2, 2012, mainstream media reported "tens of thousands" of people protesting in Budapest over the new constitution. The EU and US had also asked for the constitution to be withdrawn. But the constitution is supported by the overwhelming majority of Hungarian citizenry, which few reports have noted.
This constitution is a symbol of a growing trend among new EU Member States to protect life and the family. As the Turtle Bay and Beyond blog noted when it was drafted in April:
It is amazing how quickly the condemnation of the new constitution has arisen. Comments regarding the lack of transparency in its drafting and the fact that it did not follow a referendum have come pouring out of leftist EU institutions. Funny how these institutions never condemn the lack of democratic fairness or lack of transparency when legislation is rushed promoting their issues. The fact is, the new Hungarian government enjoys a super majority because the people of Hungary so voted. The new constitution is a symbol of that vision.
(quotes from the new Hungarian Constitution taken from http://www.eclj.org/pdf/ECLJ_Memorendum-Hungarian-Constitution_20110519.pdf. For more detail see Constitution of Hungary on Wikipedia.)
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