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The group called "Papa, maman et moi" that claims to be against abortion and "pro-life" plans to organize a demonstration in Brussels on 25th July, 2006, to "defend life that is threatened by new laws in the making". What should one think about this ? The discourse of such associations is simplistic, full of amalgams and gaps, very much inspired by religious fundamentalism and by a refusal to admit that people may differ. To acknowledge this as a fact is particularly alarming. Indeed, similar discourses allegedly based upon democratic feelings and the right to the freedom of expression, are presently held at a European level by various organizations, some of which political. They aim in fact at rendering intolerance commonplace, in particular with regard to health and sexual and reproductive behaviours. That members of extreme right and fundamentalist parties should presently hold posts in the Polish government is only a token of the most dangerous slippery slope that affects basic rights in Europe. It is our task to reaffirm at once the ethical and democratic alternatives that we have made ours. 1. Our opponents claim to be against abortion, for life, for the family, and insinuate that those who stand for the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy are against life and against the family. This is completely untrue. Nobody is "in favour of" abortion. No woman desires to become pregnant in order to submit to an abortion; no couple is thrilled to confront a doctor and ask him/her to terminate a pregnancy. What is passed over in silence in this discourse is the profound distress these women and these couples endure. We claim that the right women have to abort safely is absolutely indisputable. This right was -at long last- acknowledged by a law that partially depenalized abortion in April 1990. This law regulates the psychological and social guidance of the woman, with the purpose of preventing a repeated failure of contraception and allowing a future pregnancy to evolve in optimal conditions. The law has also achieved the financial transparency of the abortion practice. 2. Our opponents resort systematically to amalgams. The right to terminate a pregnancy is for them tantamount to an "ideological promotion of mass murder". This shameful comparison says much about the wrath and the frustration that inspire it. 3. Abortion, the growing old of the autochthonous population, xenophobe feelings and misuse of terms. " In 15 years' time, at least one million children were deprived of their lives. One million innocent, little victims.Here, in our midst, in our country that paradoxically has much to suffer from the growing old of our population." In plain language this means : all these abortions lead to a huge loss affecting our retirement funds, that will need to be compensated by a dreadful increase in immigration, even if this latter should be extremely selective. The immoderate use of the terminology "our" is an indication of their inclinations. As far as the numbers are concerned, one may wonder what their statistical and demographic bases might be. Finally, and we shall address this issue again, the law defines the stages of pregnancy : one deals with an "ovum" between 0 and 10 days, an "embryo" from the 11th day until the beginning of the 4th month, a "fetus" from then on until birth. The word "child" is only used after birth. 4. Homosexual parenthood and adoption by homosexual couples : refusal of the difference, pseudo-science and paranoia. The refusal to admit that people may differ in their sexual identity obviously leads to a firm belief that homosexual persons are incapable of being good parents. This very radical ideological opinion, which is masked by pseudo-scientific utterances, exhorts in fact to stigmatize the persons concerned. Let us have a look at their "scientific arguments". In the "Rapport sur le développement de l'enfant au sein de couples de même sexe" (Report on the development of children within a family headed by partners of the same sex), that is to be found on their web-site (Fontana, Martinez, and Romeu, 2005), the authors conclude that they "can give no assurance whatsoever concerning the ability of homosexual couples to adopt children". One would, following such statement, expect a proposal to be extremely careful, and to scrutinize this problem in depth. After all, this latter is indeed extraordinarily complex. Who could in earnst dare to make any statements with regard to the ability of heterosexual couples to adopt children ? In spite of this, the authors do not hesitate to plead for a prohibition of adoption by homosexual couples. What entitles them to trespass so blatantly the limits of their competence ? But this mystery is easily solved. It suffices to identify the people who pulled the strings and financed the undertaking. They are very talented in throwing discredit on studies carried out at the request of gays and lesbians. Every man to his lobby. Let us now turn to the unbridled stigmatisation, the tendentious use of words. Do they not repeatedly refer to a "propaganda" in favour of homosexual parenthood, to a "homosexual lobby" that is a threat for the "Eternal Family" ? We shall end by addressing the ideological exhortation, which clearly reveals their autoritative tendencies. Endlessly, concepts are put forward that have not been defined. This may pertain to the child's well-being or to the family (the "Eternal Family"). Unlike what our ideological opponents would like us to believe, these terms are not univocal; their meaning is much debated. Indeed, what does one mean when stating that a a family is "healthy" or "deviant" ? What are its commitments ? Who are the actors ? What are their roles ? What is the meaning of the "child's well-being" ? What are "homosexuality" and "heterosexuality" ? Very briefly, these are our motivations, these are the basic values that we defend : We are very much in favour of life, the couple and the family, but within a context of intangible individual freedom of choice that each of us must be able to exert with a clear conscience. This freedom was gained after some very hard fights. The democratic society wherein we live and the law acknowledge these rights. These latter concern particularly relations and sexual health. We have made ours principles of non-discrimination and non-stigmatisation. We fight for the respect of differences and for equal rights, especially when it comes to the sexual identity and trends of people. Finally, we wish to remind all that laws and regulations were promulgated in Europe and internationally that endorse those principles of respect for differences and non-discrimination. We shall devote all our energies to widen the field of application of these principles, more particularly with regard to women's health and their control over their sexual and reproductive health. There is much progress still to be made, that is presently often only paid lip service. First - les quatre fédérations de centres de planning familial en Communauté française : FCPC, FLCPF, FCPPF, FPS - l'APES-ULg, Service Communautaire de Promotion de la Santé, unité de l'Ecole de Santé publique de l'Université de Liège - Borinage 2000 - le Bureau wallon des femmes de la CGSP - le CAL - le CEMEA-SJ (Organisation de Jeunesse reconnue par la Communauté française) - le CEMEA-EP (Service d'Education Permanente reconnu par la Communauté française) - le Conseil de la jeunesse d’expression française (CJEF) - Espace P - Ex Aequo - la Fédération des centres de service social - la Fédération des maisons médicales - les Femmes Prévoyantes socialistes - Garance - le Groupement belge de la Porte Ouverte pour l'émancipation économique des Travailleuses - le Librex - la Ligue des familles - la Ligue des droits de l’Homme - la Ligue de l’Enseignement - l’Université des femmes - Verbond Sociale Ondernemingen - Vie Féminine - Wendo

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