Despite last week's vote in which Poland's parliament rejected changes to the constitution that would have toughened anti-abortion laws, Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski's administration continues to move forward in its efforts to protect Poland from destructive social forces.There is no doubt that last week's events were a disappointment for conservatives as they failed to persuade enough "centrist" and leftist opposition to vote for the changes. Thus, the two-thirds majority needed to enact the changes to the constitution was not reached.
Furthermore, the votes emphasized important differences in strategy within the governing coalition. The League of Polish Families sought a total ban on abortion while Kaczynski's Law and Justice Party preferred to further solidify Poland's existing abortion law which is among Europe's strictest. (Women may undergo an abortion only when their health is threatened by pregnancy, the baby is likely to be handicapped, or the pregnancy is the result of rape.)
But though they face these internal differences (and the far more difficult pressures from feminists, socialists and the European Union), the conservatives continue to try and bolster the defense of life, the family and religious faith.
An example is the bill now under debate that would prohibit the promotion of homosexuality in Poland's schools -- a bill supported by both Poland’s President Lech Kaczynski and Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
According to Larry Jacobs, vice-president of the World Congress of Families, “Radical homosexual groups, the left generally and the European Union have been going nuts over this proposed legislation. They’re calling the sponsors ‘homophobes’ and ‘haters’ – when, in reality, all the bill requires is neutrality on an emotionally-charged issue. The bill does not require that schools warn against the palpable dangers of the gay acts. Rather, it bans any discussion of a lifestyle whose advancement offends people of faith.”
A WCF update underscores the contrast with this bill and what has happened elsewhere. "By contrast, in the United States, many schools are used as propaganda forums. Children are taught that homosexuality is a perfectly acceptable lifestyle, that hatred of gays (so-called homophobia) is rampant, and that anyone who opposes the militant gay agenda is a bigot – comparable to a racist or an anti-Semite. Some schools even give explicit instruction in how to perform various unnatural acts, in the guise of fighting AIDS."
The update gives as an example last week's ‘Day of Silence,’ a now annual demonstration occurring in American public schools where students and staff demonstrate their opposition to homophobia and anti-gay hatred but which strictly disallows any presentations that would reveal the dark, unhealthy and immoral nature of homosexuality. Thousands of schools participated.
"Much of Europe has gone even further. In 2006, the European Parliament passed a resolution which practically mandates same-sex marriage, compares “homophobia” to racism and anti-Semitism, and orders member states to pass hate-crimes legislation to stifle dissent on the issue of homosexuality and its social consequences."
Partially to stand in solidarity with the people of Poland, World Congress of Families IV will convene in Warsaw in one month (May 11-13). More than 3,000 pro-family leaders, activists, scholars and parliamentarians are expected to attend the Warsaw Congress, whose motto is The Natural Family: Springtime For Europe And The World. President Kaczynski is serving as honorary patron of the Congress and will make opening remarks.
As I have mentioned previously, Claire and I will be in Warsaw for WCF IV where we will share with you some of the conference highlights here on Vital Signs Blog. Please pray for its grand success. And please pray for the champions of faith and family working so hard there in Poland.
And one more item --- Here is Janice Shaw Crouse's latest Town Hall column, an insightful, nformative take on Katha Pollitt's article in The Nation which so unfairly blasted the purposes (and persons) behind the WCF IV. An excellent piece.
