Abstract
Hungary has been a member of the European Union, the great community of European peoples, for twenty years. During the two decades of our membership, the world we live in has changed completely, so perhaps more than ever, the cooperation of European peoples is more important. Many believe that the continuous deepening of European integration is the key to this cooperation. In this context, the role of the common European values that unite the 27 Member States continues to grow. From a legal perspective, common constitutional values are arguably the most important cornerstone of legislation, making it essential to examine them in the context of Community unity. My study will attempt to examine a slice of these constitutional values, the right to life and human dignity, the issue of abortion, through the very different dynamics of change in French and Hungarian legislation. The reason is that, while all States recognise the right to life and human dignity as one of the most important fundamental rights, the issue of abortion is no longer uniform across Europe. The development of French and Hungarian law on the subject may represent the two much-mentioned poles of this divergence, but they are nevertheless comparable, since their dynamics are similar. However, a marked divergence is also clearly visible. While French law, which is constantly evolving with the key role of the legislature, gives priority to the mother’s right to decide, the principles of Hungarian law, carefully elaborated by the Constitutional Court, state that the protection of foetal life is the duty of the State. In the light of the above, it may be an exciting question for the future whether a common European set of values can be developed on this issue.
Keywords: abortion, fundamental rights, right to life, constitutional review, French abortion legislation, Hungarian abortion legislation, right to self-determination, comparative constitutional law
I. Introduction
“United in diversity” is the motto of the European Union, which since 2000 – almost a quarter of a century ago – has reminded us that a community built for peace and prosperity is a community with an unparalleled wealth of cultural, linguistic and traditional diversity.[2] The statesmen who founded the Union wisely sought the qualities that bind together this community, now enlarged to 27 Member States, but they did not overlook the differences that distinguish us and that the people of each nation can take pride in. These differences are still quite strong today, but the importance of common values, including a shared history and culture, is growing. The pillars of European culture are well known, phenomena that have been present and have shaped the continent’s life for thousands of years. These three pillars are commonly understood to be Greek philosophy, Roman law and the Christian religion.
European culture, shaped by these values, is also a defining characteristic of the Union. As Article 2 TEU puts it, “[t]he Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail.”[3]
[1] This research was carried out using the European Constitutional Communication Network (ECCN) database, within the framework of the research project of the Comparative Constitutional Law Research Group at the National University of Public Service, with the support of the AURUM Lawyers’ Club for Talented Students Foundation.
[2] european-union.europa.eu/principles-countries-history/symbols/eu-motto_en
[3] Treaty on European Union Article 2.