On Saturday, almost 1,200 people came together in Paris for the first European “One of Us” forum, “a European pro-life meeting organised by the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation”. This “unprecedented” forum marked the “official launch of the first public demonstration of the One of Us/Un de nous Federation”. The aim is to “adopt a strong European pro-life stance to stem the wave of bioethical spin-offs” in the wake of the 2012 European citizens’ initiative. The “vast popular movement has nowadays become a real operational organisation”. For Jean Marie Le Méné, President of the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation, it is “all about perpetuating this movement and demonstrating our desire to work together. Approximately thirty associations are currently involved” because “the national framework is too limited to take action”.
Numerous European personalities attended including Jaime Mayor Oreya, President of the Federation and former Minister of the Spanish Interior, Katalin Novak, Hungarian Family Minister, Gian Luigi Gigli, Deputy Italian President of the Italian movement Per la Vita, Beatrice Lorenzin, Italian Health Minister, Philippe de Villiers, former French Minister and Jean-Frédéric Poisson, French Deputy. The One of Us Award was presented to Pattaramon Chunbua, mother of Gammy, “who is considered to be a real ‘heroine’ by Federation members” (see Surrogacy and child trafficking: the story of “Baby Gammy’s” mother).
Three types of action are envisaged: European lobbying, the organisation of pro-life and family marches which are “currently too far apart” and raising awareness in Latin America or Eastern countries such as Germany, where One of Us has found a voice.
La Croix (13/03/2016)