In Slovakia, the parliament approved a constitutional amendment to limit the rights of same-sex couples.
Approved by 90 votes in the 150-seat lower house, the amendment states that:
- male and female will be the only recognized genders,
- school curricula must respect the cultural and ethical positions set out in the constitution; and
- only married heterosexual couples are allowed to adopt (with rare exceptions).
In fact, Slovakia’s constitution already defines marriage as a union between a person assigned male and female at birth. The current move erases LGBTQIA+ people altogether.
This amendment was proposed in January, with Slovakia’s anti-LGBTQIA+ prime minister Robert Fico framing the need for it as a way to uphold “the traditions, the cultural and spiritual heritage of our ancestors”, and to construct a “constitutional barrier against progressive politics” and restore “common sense”.
The amendment states antiquated narratives – e.g. that there are “two sexes, male and female”, defined at birth, also automatically erasing intersex people; and that sex cannot be modified except for serious reasons, and only following procedures that will be established by law.
Even if it is a member of the European Union (EU), Slovakia’s national law precedes EU law. As such, even if EU promotes policies respecting the human rights of all people no matter their SOGIESC, Slovakia’s laws violating the human rights of minority sectors stand. This could, potentially, pose a challenge to the functioning of the 27-nation bloc.
