Parent 1 and 2, or mother and father

7.3.2014

Question for written answer E-002730-14
to the Commission
Rule 117
Cristiana Muscardini (ECR)

Some local authorities in Italy, including those in Milan, have stopped using the terms ‘mother’ and ‘father’ on documents, in particular school forms, in favour of the more ‘politically correct’ ‘parent 1’ and ‘parent 2’, so as not to discriminate against same-sex parents. Aside from the fact that there is nothing politically correct about these terms themselves and that their use is actually politically incorrect as it constitutes a form of discrimination against traditional families, this is a sly attempt to push the equal rights agenda using bureaucratic terminology. What is more, it could result in further discrimination, in that numbering parents ‘1’ and ‘2’ implies that one parent is more important than the other, whereas the terms ‘mother’ and ‘father’ carry equal weight. If we are to go down this road, why not just keep the traditional titles and simply add a third field designated ‘other’ to allow not only same-sex parents, but also grandparents, aunts and uncles, guardians, or others to be specified on the form?

1. Can the Commission say which Member States use such terminology?

2. What recognition does the Commission give to the educational, social and economic role the family plays in the EU?

3. Should children’s rights, which the EU already guarantees, not include the fundamental right to have parents who are recognised as mother and father, and not simply as numbers?

OJ C 355, 08/10/2014