BUDAPEST, April 5, 2013 (HLI Worldwatch) – Dozens of young Hungarian pro-lifers broke out in song and dance in the middle of Budapest’s main square on Thursday to support the “One of Us” campaign to protect life from conception across Europe.
From Human Life International’s (HLI) country director in Hungary Dr. Imre Téglásy:
One of our partner organizations Together for Life (Együtt az Életért) organized the flash mob at the main square of Budapest, called Széll Kálmán tér, to support the ‘One of Us’ campaign. Young people between the ages of 14 and 35 were dancing in the square in front of the metro station to call attention to this initiative. So far we have collected 7,400 signatures in Hungary via the Internet and on paper, but we need to collect many more.
Find photos of the event here.
The “One of Us” campaign is being supported and organized by several nations in the European Union (EU). Its goal is to see all human life protected from the moment of conception in Europe, with a particular emphasis on those pre-born children who are vulnerable to exploitation via research, but organizers admit that complete protection of life from conception may not be achievable through the laws of the EU.
Josephine Quintavalle of “One of Us” in the United Kingdom explains: “We can raise a European level legislation, not to give absolute defense to the human embryo, unfortunately, but to prevent any destructive patenting or scientific application or use of the human embryo. So, that’s the essence of this. It’s a big vote in defense of the right to life of the embryo, of the humanity of the embryo, to state that the human embryo is not just some body tissue. It is a human being.”
Ms. Quintavalle calls “One of Us” the “ultimate pro-life campaign.”
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“All we’re asking from supporters is to go online, add your signature, and check a box in defense of the right to life of the human embryo,” she said. “Life begins at conception as we all know, whether that happens in the womb, or sadly in the laboratory.”
“Based on the definition of the human embryo as the beginning of the development of the human being, which was given in a recent ECJ judgment (Brüstle vs. Greenpeace), ‘One of Us’ asks the EU to end the financing of activities which presuppose the destruction of human embryos, in particular in the areas of research, development aid and public health,” the campaign’s website states. “This will be done through a change of the financial regulation of the EU that determines the spending of the EU budget. A ban of such funding will greatly contribute to the consistency within the EU.”
Organizers are looking to gather at least one million signatures for the defense of life as part of a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI). An ECI is directed toward proposing legislation to the European Commission on matters where the EU has competence to legislate, and must be backed by at least one million EU citizens, coming from at least seven out of the 27 member states.
The “One of Us” campaign believes if they can get at least one million citizens to stand with them, “a concrete ethical standard could be established across Europe with regards to the respect of the dignity of each member of the human family, no matter how young it is.”
“The desired outcome of the initiative is a concrete ban of life-destroying policies in the EU budget, as well as a political change and greater awareness of the need to respect the wish of so many European citizens,” they state. “Furthermore, jurisdiction at the European Court of Human Rights, where many bioethical cases are pending, could be positively influenced.”
The petition can be signed and shared via the “One of Us” website.
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This article originally appeared on HLI Worldwatch and is reprinted with permission.