In Defense of Life In Ukraine
On May 16-18 Kyiv hosted the Family-Child-State international congress organized by a group of lay Catholics, members of the All-Ukrainian Foundation for Human Dignity. The congress was attended by His Eminence, Alfonso Cardinal Lopez Trujillo, Papal Legate and President of the Pontifical Council for the Family.
The congress was greeted by heads of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine. Cardinals Liubomyr Huzar and Maryan Yavorsky said in a joint message, “We ask you to redouble your efforts in defense of human life from the moment of conception to natural death. We also ask you to pray that this function will help many Ukrainians to appreciate the dignity, sanctity and social importance of human life.” The congress, attended by more than 500 participants, had an unprecedented effect on other Ukrainian churches that sent their representatives. It was also supported by international organizations, such as Human Life International, Renovabis, the Revival Ministry, Pro-Life Action Ministries, East European Children’s Fund, and Media Center of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine. The congress logo depicting a family embedded in Ukraine’s national emblem was designed by the latter organization’s associate Svitlana Yaroshenko. The logo symbolizes the integrity of the family as the life-creating cell of society and a union blessed by the Holy Ghost.
“Today’s Ukraine is on the brink of a catastrophe. While in 1990 natural growth of the population was 27,600, it was minus 299,700 in 1995 and minus 373,000 in 2000. This figure is constantly on the rise,” said Henia Samborska, chairperson of For Human Dignity Foundation, opening the International Congress of the family on May 16 in Kyiv. “Should this country’s population continue to decline at the current rate, the Ukrainian people will simply vanish from the face of the earth in a hundred years. It is time to sound alarm right now.”
“Ukraine has at last begun to discuss the most fundamental thing, the family,” Ukrainian parliament member Liliya Hryhorovych told the congress.
“We see a dangerous steady growth of sexually-transmitted diseases among young people,” congress organizing committee cochairman Oleksandr Dobroyer said at the opening ceremony. “In 2001, incidence of syphilis among the 15 to 17-year-olds was five times as high as in 1991. The number of individuals sexually infected with HIV rose six fold from 1996. This situation results from the irresponsible National Family Planning Program carried out in Ukraine since the mid- nineties, one of the postulates of which is that the condom is an effective way of protection against HIV and other sexually- transmitted diseases. We know this is not true. What can be the only alternative to this epidemic is implementation of a new program which propagates wholesome family values, serious attitude to one’s sexuality, and premarital chastity. We have such a draft program, and we are prepared to discuss with the Ministry of Public Education the possibility of adapting it to the school curriculum.”
High on the congress agenda was HIV infection as a real threat to the contemporary family. Official statistics say there are over 50,000 HIV-infected individuals in Ukraine. UN expert estimates this figure, however, ten higher. Some sources give even more shocking figures. “It does not matter now who is right or wrong. The situation is obviously out of control, and something has to be done,” announced Ms. Samborska.
According to the Ministry of Public Health, 52,993 HIV- infected people were officially recorded in Ukraine from the outbreak of the disease in 1987 up to February 1, 2003, of whom 4,299 are children. There were 4,226 AIDS patients, including 144 children. As of now, AIDS has claimed 2,299 human lives, including 80 children. According to UNAIDS, the number of the HIV-infected is estimated at 500,000. The share of sexual transmission of the disease is also on the rise — from 11.3% in 1997 to 27% in 2001. “These figures are the fruits of a media campaign in favor of anti-family values, sexual permissiveness, and licentiousness. But, nature does not tolerate licentiousness,” Ms. Samborska said.
Likewise, the abortion situation in Ukraine can be referred to as collective suicide, given the persistence of our compatriots in exterminating their posterity. Today, Ukraine ranks as one of Europe’s top countries in the number of abortions. Official data of the State Statistical Committee of Ukraine state that in 2000 there were for every 100 live births 112.7 abortions. 10,338 abortions are performed on 15 to 17-year-old girls. If we accept official statistics, there were 434,223 abortions in 2000. However, independent experts take these figures with a grain of salt and believe that the true number of abortions is actually several times higher.
