STRASBOURG, France — The Alliance Defense Fund submitted a legal memo to members of the European Parliament, the advisory body to the European Union, Tuesday urging it to vote against a resolution on social policy introduced by a communist member. The proposed resolution promotes same-sex “partnerships,” abortion, and censorship of moral expressions on homosexual behavior.
“No one should have their beliefs marginalized or criminalized simply because they don’t agree with the far left,” said ADF Legal Counsel Roger Kiska, who is based in Europe. “This resolution would undermine the right to life, damage the institution of the family, and curtail freedom of expression. It does these things in violation of treaty law and member state autonomy. The parliament should not allow itself to be used as a vehicle to further spread a damaging social agenda outside of its scope.”
The resolution from the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs departs from case law established through the European Court of Human Rights governing the right to life throughout Europe. It does so by promoting the expansion of abortion and effectively infringing upon member state laws that deal with the use of tax funds for abortions and the conscientious objection of physicians who do not wish to perform abortions.
The proposed resolution, to be voted on this week, also expresses a bias against stay-at-home motherhood and calls for compulsory “sexual education,” mutual recognition between members states of same-sex “partnerships,” and censorship of those who express opinions that disagree with homosexual behavior.
According to the ADF memo, “It is the opinion of ADF that the above-enumerated issues effecting intimate social and moral policies far exceeds the competency of this body and does damage to the governing law established by the Member States both domestically and within the context of their obligations to the European Convention of Human Rights. As such, ADF respectfully submits that pursuant to the obligations of Members of European Parliament to respect the rule of law, it is paramount that the proposed Resolution be voted down.”
The European Parliament is the only body of the European Union which is democratically elected. A resolution is not legally binding but expresses the institutional position of the parliament. Resolutions are used in other international documents or judicial proceedings and therefore have the effect of eventually helping to create binding international laws.
The full text of the ADF memo is available at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/EPmemo.pdf.
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
www.telladf.org