BRAZILIA, January 22, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Brazilian President Luiz Lula da Silva has introduced a massive legislative reform package in the last year of his term that would secure abortion as a "human right," impose socialist and homosexualist ideology in the schools and media, and ban crucifixes from government facilities, among other measures.
The legislative program, which is called the Third National Program for Human Rights (PNDH-3), would establish a level of control over the media and private property that is being called a nonviolent "coup d'etat" and a socialist party "dictatorship." It has elicited widespread protest from institutions ranging from the Catholic Church to military leaders, the agricultural sector, and even members of the president's own cabinet.
The leadership of the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops (CNBB) has issued a declaration "reaffirming its position, manifested many times, in defense of life and the family, and against the decriminalization of abortion, against marriage between people of the same sex and the right of adoption of children by homosexual couples."
The CNBB leadership "also rejects the creation of 'mechanisms to impede the display of religious symbols in public establishments of the Union,' because it regards such an intolerant measure as ignoring our historical roots."
A Socialist Party Dictatorship?
If the Brazilian Labor Party succeeds in imposing the legislative package contained in the PNDH-3, it will receive broad powers to shut down media outlets that disagree with its ideology, impose its pro-abortion and homosexualist political agenda on the entire country, and undermine the rights of private property. The extensive powers proposed by the government have led at least one prominent Brazilian commentator to speak of a party "dictatorship."
For example, the Program treats the killing of unborn children as a "human right," to be protected by the state. Directive 9 includes "supporting the approval of legislation that decriminalizes abortion, considering the autonomy of women to make decisions concerning their bodies."
It also orders the creation of "campaigns and educational actions to deconstruct the stereotypes related to sex professionals."
Education and Culture in Human Rights," the fifth "axis" in the Program, directs that children from "infancy" (early childhood) must be taught the government's concept of "human rights," which includes "the study of themes of gender and sexual orientation" for the purpose of "combating prejudice, which is sometimes rooted in the family itself."
Directive 10 strikes a decisive blow against the Brazilian tradition of displaying crucifixes in public facilities, mandating the creation of "mechanisms to impede the display of religious symbols in public establishments of the Union (Brazil)."
It also proposes to "carry out campaigns and educational activities to deconstruct the stereotypes related to ... sexual identity and orientation."
The Program's Directive 19 requires the creation of curricula "for all of the levels and forms of teaching for basic education," for "promoting the recognition and/or respect for the diversities of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity…"
The Program's educational directives will have an even greater impact given the fact that the government recently passed a constitutional amendment requiring that all children be sent to school at the age of four.
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