By Mark Ellis —
In the last several decades, Hungarians faced an alarming problem. Citizens were fleeing the country, fewer people were marrying, and divorces and abortions were high.
Incredibly, there were some years when the number of abortions was outpacing live births, according to a report by CBN.
In 2010, Hungary adopted pro-family policies within its constitution. More recently, the constitution was amended to state that a mother is a woman and a father is a man. The constitution also states that the education of children — including sex education – is a responsibility held solely by parents.
To incentivize families, a law was enacted that allows working Hungarian women who have four children to pay no income taxes for life.
The law allows three years of family leave to care for babies. Couples may also receive a $30,000 interest-free loan to help buy a home. Repayment goes down with each child and after three children the debt is forgiven.
Since the policies were enacted, the birthrate has risen, marriages are up 83%, and divorces are at a 60-year low.
Abortions have also decreased dramatically. “For me personally this is one of the most important outcomes of our ten-year family-friendly or family-oriented policies. The abortions dropped by 41% and I think that we still have work to be done in this matter because we have to point out the value of life,” Katalin Novak, the Minister for Families (a cabinet-level position), told CBN.
These changes have infuriated leaders of the European Union, who want to impose sanctions on Hungary, according to State Secretary Tristan Azbej. Legal action has been initiated against Hungary, accusing the government of discriminating against LGBT people.
“We are heavily attacked and criticized for the belief, our Christian beliefs, and also Christian democratic political ideas,” Azbej stated.
Zoltan Kovacs, a spokesman for the Prime Minister, accused the EU of interfering in the education policies of a member nation.
“They don’t like us because we won’t let the violent and the overreaching LGBTQ propaganda come to our schools, come to the lives of our children,” he told CBN.
“For me, it is very difficult to understand what is controversial in saying the mother is a woman and the father is a man or that marriage is between one man and one woman based upon their mutual consent. I think it is the basis of our lives and we just have it reflected in our constitution. So, I think that we don’t have to explain it because it is just the way it has always been and that’s the way it still is in Hungary,” Kovacs said.
