Hungary and Poland know the numbers. Hungary and Poland both know they are dying. In Hungary, this year for every 1,000 people, 12.7 people will die but only 9.8 people will be born. This makes the "growth" rate for Hungary -0.12%. For Poland, for every 1,000 people, 10 people will be born and 10.2 people will die making the "growth" rate "only" -0.1%.
Many European countries are facing the similar threat of negative birth rates. Most, whether having a social democratic or liberal conservative government, have responded with the short term solution of mass immigration only to encounter an alien culture that does not want to assimilate, the native culture revealing racist tendencies against the new comers, and a rising nativist movement that feels they have been betrayed by their own government.
Hungary and Poland are different though. Secularization is not a native idea like that in Western Europe but instead viewed mostly as an outside ideology supported by an occupier, the Soviet Union. Christian Democratic parties are not a Western European "Christian Democratic" copy of being liberal on social issues and mostly-market friendly, instead they are Christian: socially conservative and market open-but-skeptical. The Christian nature of these countries is the main driver of their solution to negative growth rates: ban abortion.
Hungary's Fidesz Party used its super majority earlier this year to rewrite the constitution which in its opening contained the following line "The value of human life is unfathomable. Every person has the right to life and human value; the life of the fetus is protected from conception to birth." Many people have interpreted this to lay the ground work for an upcoming ban of abortion.
Now Poland may be about to take the next step and ban abortion completely. Currently, abortions can only be obtained when the child is diagnosed with a serious defect, or if the mother is diagnosed with a health problem, or if the pregnancy resulted from “illegal activity.” Abortions are extremely rare in Poland with only an estimated 500 abortions last year. Poland needs to do more if they wish to get above replacement rate but ending the slide-aiding procedure of abortion is a step that has almost been completed.
Many European countries are facing the similar threat of negative birth rates. Most, whether having a social democratic or liberal conservative government, have responded with the short term solution of mass immigration only to encounter an alien culture that does not want to assimilate, the native culture revealing racist tendencies against the new comers, and a rising nativist movement that feels they have been betrayed by their own government.
Hungary and Poland are different though. Secularization is not a native idea like that in Western Europe but instead viewed mostly as an outside ideology supported by an occupier, the Soviet Union. Christian Democratic parties are not a Western European "Christian Democratic" copy of being liberal on social issues and mostly-market friendly, instead they are Christian: socially conservative and market open-but-skeptical. The Christian nature of these countries is the main driver of their solution to negative growth rates: ban abortion.
Hungary's Fidesz Party used its super majority earlier this year to rewrite the constitution which in its opening contained the following line "The value of human life is unfathomable. Every person has the right to life and human value; the life of the fetus is protected from conception to birth." Many people have interpreted this to lay the ground work for an upcoming ban of abortion.
Now Poland may be about to take the next step and ban abortion completely. Currently, abortions can only be obtained when the child is diagnosed with a serious defect, or if the mother is diagnosed with a health problem, or if the pregnancy resulted from “illegal activity.” Abortions are extremely rare in Poland with only an estimated 500 abortions last year. Poland needs to do more if they wish to get above replacement rate but ending the slide-aiding procedure of abortion is a step that has almost been completed.
2 comments:
good news!
Our own Declaration of Independence in the USA states that: "all mem are CREATED equal". It does not say "BORN equal".
I guess that (even if the law were a useful tool for that) avoiding 500 abortions will not do a lot for Polish demographics. Something does not add up here.
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