HUNGARY: Top-down transphobia at a time of crisis
In November, as a second wave of COVID-19 struck many European countries and Hungary declared another state of emergency and reapplied lockdown measures, the ruling party submitted a constitutional amendment to write ‘Christian culture’ into the Constitution and define a mother as a woman and a father as man, excluding same-sex couples from adoption rights. At the same time it amended the Civil Code and Child Protection Act to require single people to obtain special ministerial permission before adopting a child, closing a loophole through which members of LGBTQI+ couples might have been able to adopt as single parents.
The EU should act not only on this specific legislation but also on other, bigger issues related to the rule of law and fundamental rights in Hungary.
The EU should not just speak up, but also act on Hungary and Poland. If the EC keeps refusing to address the situation on the ground, then we really don’t know where else to go.
Krisztina Kolos Orbán