Family planning article to be omitted in new charter

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

In this file photo the provincial health officials tell women agricultual workers about family planning in Çukurova region. Currently, Article 41 of the Turkish Constitution, which covers the protection of the family, states that ‘the family is the foundation of the Turkish society and is based on equality between the spouses.’ DHA photo

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) plans to amend a constitutional article which covers “the protection of the family” to omit information about family planning.

Currently, Article 41 of the Turkish Constitution, which covers the protection of the family, states that “the family is the foundation of the Turkish society and is based on equality between the spouses.”

“The state shall take the necessary measures and establish the necessary organization to ensure the peace and welfare of the family, especially where the protection of the mother and children is involved, and recognize the need for education in the practical application of family planning,” the Article also states.

Yet, the planned article from the AKP omitted the part about family planning. “The family, the marriage institution, rights of parents and children are under the protection of the state,” says the proposal drafted by the AKP. The AKP’s move comes at a time when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has frequently called for women to have at least three children.

AKP says ‘citizen’ instead of “Turk”
Historically the AKP has been known for attempts to crack down on behavior they feel is dangerous to the family institution. In 2004, for example, the AKP intended to criminalize adultery but later folded under pressure from the European Union. The issue will be on the agenda at today’s Parliament’s Constitution Reconciliation Commission meeting.

Today’s meeting of the Parliament’s Constitution Reconciliation Commission comes after the Peace and Democracy Party’s (BDP) appeal for a recess in order to review party policies on the drafting process. The BDP called for recess after claims that other parties where disregarding their proposals fell on deaf ears.

In the meantime, all four parties of the commission — the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the AKP and the BDP — were supposed to have finalize drafts detailing their individual opinions regarding articles in the fundamental rights and freedoms chapter. Within the proposal package about fundamental rights and liberties, AKP also changed the expression “every Turk” to “every citizen” in the article about the right to enter public service.

CHP’s red lines
In a recent interview with the Hürriyet Daily News, CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, said his party’s “red lines” in the new constitution drafting process were the protection of the first four articles of the Constitution, which he said represent the will of the founder of the Turkish Republic. “Fundamental sentences such as ‘Turkey is a democratic, secular and social state governed by the rule of law,’ are our red lines,” Kılıçdaroğlu said, referring to Article 2 of the current Constitution.