ROME — The pro-abortion movement is engaged in a war of language, trying to convince the world it represents freedom when in reality it represents death, said Hungarian Family Minister Katalin Novák.
“I take part in many pro-family and pro-life events and what disturbs me deeply is the language issue,” Novák told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview Wednesday. “There is a battle of language. What does the pro-abortion movement say? That they are pro-choice. But they are not pro-choice.”
“This is so misleading,” she said. “There is no choice. If you already have a child in you, then what you do then is not a choice. That is not a moment for choice. The choice is before. Pro-abortion is pro-killing; it is against choice.”
“Abortion is not about liberty. It’s not about the freedom of women. This is a deliberate misrepresentation of what is going on,” she added.
“We need to show the value of life, the richness of expecting a child, giving birth to a child. In the Hungarian constitution it says that life begins at conception and the life of the fetus shall be protected. This is in our constitution so we have to reflect this not only in our legislation but in our everyday life.”
The minister did stress, however, that “I don’t think that Hungary is a global player in this issue”, and that abortion was “not high on the agenda among people… they have other issues to care about, that’s not on their agenda.”
While abortion is legal in Hungary under certain conditions, “the number of abortions in Hungary dropped by 30 percent over the last years and is at its lowest ever,” Novák said. “The most important tool at our disposal is education.”
In Hungary, “family benefits are already available while a mother is expecting her baby,” Novák said. “So during pregnancy, after the third month, they become eligible for all kinds of family benefits. That is a positive sign that reflects the value of the unborn child.”
“That’s not some philosophy or ideology. It is a financial measure, but it underlines the value of the unborn child,” she said. “With such measures you can effect a change in the mentality of society.”
With its aggressive pro-family policies, “Hungary has become a model for many countries,” Novák observed. “That wasn’t our aim — we just wanted to have a better life for the Hungarian people, but we have become a model because we have results.”
“The number of marriages is at a 20-year high, increasing by almost 50 percent in the last eight years, and our fertility rate is also at a 20-year high, increasing by 21 percent in the same period. All the indicators show signs of a positive trend,” she said.
“But it isn’t just demographics. It is also the family-oriented mentality,” Novák added. “Nowadays, in many parts of the developed world raising children or having a large family has become devalued whereas in Hungary we value that.”
“We invest almost five percent of our GDP in family support. This is the highest not only in Europe but in the world. That’s what the government can do,” she noted.
“When a nation’s leaders have children, we see that reflected in the decisions being made,” she said. “Our president has four children; our prime minister has five children; our ambassador to the Vatican has six children. I, myself, have three children.”
“Look at the U.S. administration, how things have changed,” she added. “There are women and men in very serious positions who have large families and that is reflected in their perspective and in their decisions because they understand what children need.”
“I wouldn’t say that those without children cannot govern well but having children is a sort of guarantee that you will understand certain things,” she said.
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