Hungary among the few backing Trump’s anti-abortion campaign

Three European countries support President Donald Trump’s anti-abortion campaign. PM Viktor Orbán’s government is on the same page regarding this issue as the Polish government and the controversial Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko.

According to hvg, the relevant statement was signed by 32 countries this Thursday. The Guardian says that the so-called Geneva Consensus Declaration is part of Trump’s foreign policy campaign led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Those signing the document would like to draw attention to how women do not have internationally granted rights to terminate their pregnancy, so the governments do not have to support their female citizens if they so decide. They conclude that countries should extend women’s rights, but not by supporting access to abortion.

Only three European countries signed the deal: Poland, Belarus, and Hungary.

The Polish supreme court declared abortion unconstitutional in the case of damaged and handicapped embryos. In Hungary, the Catholic Bishop’s Conference’s newly elected chairman, András Veres, said that he would like to protect Christian doctors from conducting abortions and added that he regards in vitro fertilisation (IVF) programs a sin since they destroy lives.

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Katalin Novák, minister without portfolio for family affairs, represented Hungary in the signing ceremony. 

She said on Facebook that “we need to show the value of life, the joy of expecting and giving birth to a child. For these reasons, I am happy to see that there are more and more initiatives and partnerships with the government of the United States and other like-minded countries that aim to act jointly.”

Further countries that signed the declaration include Brazil, India, Saudi-Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The Guardian says that most of those countries signing the declaration are on the list of the Georgetown University showing where women are in the worst situation in the world. Hungary is the 49th among the 167 countries the university looked at while the USA is in the 19th place.

Source: hvg.hu