April 20, 2011: Hungary's new constitution has raised eyebrows among activist groups that support same-sex marriage and abortion. However, the provisions drawing the ire of activists are supported by recent decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). About one month after the proposed constitution was released to the public, the Hungarian parliament approved the proposal on April 18, 2011 by a vote of 262 to 44, with 1 abstention. The document will take effect on January 1, 2012.

The new constitution includes the right to life for the fetus from the moment of conception. "Human dignity is inviolable," the text states. "Everyone has the right to life and human dignity; the life of a fetus will be protected from conception." Abortionist groups claim that the wording could lead to efforts to overturn Hungary's abortion law and result in restrictions on abortion. However, on December 16, 2010 the ECHR ruled in the case A. B. C. v. Ireland that there is no right to abortion in the European Convention and that the restriction on abortion in Ireland "was based on profound moral values concerning the nature of life."

The constitution also incurred the wrath of activitists by limiting the definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman, implying that a family based on marriage is the only type protected by the state: "Hungary protects the institution of marriage between man and woman, a matrimonial relationship voluntarily established, as well as the family as the basis for the survival of the nation. Hungary supports child-bearing." Here again the ECHR supports the new constitution. In its judgment rendered on June 24, 2010 in the case Schalk and Kopf v. Austria, the Court declared that "States are still free . . . to restrict access to marriage to different-sex couples" (§108).

Members of Hungary's ruling party Fidesz, which currently holds a two-thirds majority in Parliament, are convinced that the new constitution completes the transition from communism to democracy. The current Hungarian constitution dates from 1949 but was significantly amended in 1989 following the collapse of communism.

The most notable aspect of Hungary's new constitution is its aim to safeguard "the intellectual and spiritual unity of [the Hungarian] nation." That "spiritual unity" is based on Christianity. The document refers to Christianity and to "Christian Europe" in its preamble and it promotes cooperation between the State and the churches for the common good of the society. Interestingly, Hungary is one of the countries that supported Italy in its crucifix appeal at the ECHR. The Hungarian government declared then that the crucifix must be respected as an organic component of the Italian culture and identity. According to Vatican statistics, 59 percent of the ten million people living in Hungary are Roman Catholic.