Rights Groups Urge Hungary To Go Further After Repeal Of Orbán-Era Anti-LGBTQ+ Restrictions (Worthy News In-Depth)

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief

BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Under pressure from the European Union, Hungary’s parliament has voted to amend controversial “child protection” legislation introduced under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán that critics said stigmatized gay and transgender people, as Brussels separately agreed to release billions of euros in previously frozen funding following broader reforms.

However, several human rights organizations warned that the changes did not go far enough, saying LGBTQ+ people still face restrictions on adopting children, marrying someone of the same sex and changing their legally recognized gender in official documents.

The changes do not alter Hungary’s Christian-inspired constitution, adopted under the previous government of Viktor Orbán, which defines marriage as “the union of a man and a woman” and states that “the mother is a woman, the father is a man.” Critics say these provisions, together with other legal restrictions, effectively prevent same-sex couples from marrying or jointly adopting children.

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee, Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU), Háttér Society, and Amnesty International Hungary welcomed the government’s proposed reforms but urged Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s government to remove remaining legal restrictions affecting LGBTQ+ people, including constitutional provisions and legislation used to restrict Pride marches.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) also called for further reforms in a statement published before Tuesday’s parliamentary vote and reviewed by Worthy News. “The Tisza government has a parliamentary supermajority and while dismantling much of the Orbán-era anti-LGBT legal machinery is worth applauding, the government needs to finish what it started,” the organization said.

HUNGARY EASES RESTRICTIONS

“It should amend the remaining discriminatory provisions, including the Fundamental Law, and remove any legal basis for restrictions targeting LGBT people and their rights,” HRW added.

Hungarian lawmakers approved the amendments Tuesday by 139 votes to 51, removing provisions introduced in 2021 that prohibited the portrayal or promotion of homosexuality, gender reassignment and sexual diversity in material accessible to minors.

The restrictions, introduced by Orbán’s then-ruling Fidesz party, affected schools, television programming, advertising, books and other publications.

In one high-profile case, Hungarian authorities fined the Líra bookstore chain 12 million forints (about $36,000 at the time) in 2023 for displaying Heartstopper, a graphic novel series about a romance between two teenage boys, in its youth literature section without the required sealed packaging.

The legislation also sparked controversy at Budapest’s Hungarian National Museum, where authorities barred visitors under 18 from a 2023 World Press Photo exhibition because it included photographs documenting the lives of elderly LGBTQ+ people in the Philippines. Museum Director László L. Simon, a former lawmaker from Orbán’s Fidesz party, was subsequently dismissed for allegedly failing to enforce the restrictions.

EU COURT RULING

Under the revised legislation, child protection measures will instead focus on pornography, sexual exploitation, grooming, sexual violence and material considered seriously harmful to children’s physical, intellectual, emotional or moral development.

These changes follow an April 21 ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union that found Hungary’s restrictions violated EU law and discriminated against LGBTQ+ people.

The court rejected Hungary’s argument that protecting children justified restrictions that it said stigmatized people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Judges ruled that the legislation breached fundamental rights and the European Union’s common values.

Yet rights organizations say important restrictions remain, including those affecting same-sex couples and transgender people.

Human Rights Watch pointed to Section 5/A of Hungary’s Family Protection Act, which it says still limits LGBTQ+ content accessible to children, despite the removal of similar restrictions elsewhere.

BUDAPEST PRIDE RESTRICTIONS

The organization also urged changes to Article XVI of Hungary’s constitution, which addresses children’s rights and upbringing and which it says could continue to justify restrictions on LGBTQ+ rights.

Combined with provisions in the Freedom of Assembly Act, these laws could still be used to restrict public events such as Budapest’s annual Pride march, rights advocates warned.

The controversy follows years of confrontation over LGBTQ+ rights, including the June 2025 Budapest Pride march, which attracted an estimated 250,000 participants despite an official ban imposed under Orbán’s government.

That event went ahead without major police intervention, becoming one of Hungary’s largest demonstrations in recent years, Worthy News observed at the time. Budapest Pride was also held in June 2026, after Magyar’s government took office, with authorities allowing the march to proceed without restrictions.

Despite the remaining concerns expressed by rights activists, European Commissioners Michael McGrath and Hadja Lahbib welcomed Tuesday’s parliamentary vote as an important indication of Hungary’s commitment to the European Union’s shared values.

EU UNFREEZES BILLIONS

The legislative changes also came as Magyar’s center-right Tisza government sought to rebuild relations with Brussels after defeating Orbán’s Fidesz party in April’s parliamentary elections, ending the former prime minister’s 16 years in power.

On the same day as the parliamentary vote, the Council of the European Union agreed to end funding restrictions imposed on Hungary over corruption and rule-of-law concerns, restoring access to 4.2 billion euros (about $4.7 billion) in previously frozen cohesion funds.

The move followed a September recommendation by the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, which concluded that Magyar’s government had sufficiently addressed deficiencies involving public procurement, corruption risks, conflicts of interest and safeguards for European Union funds.

Hungarian institutions previously affected by the restrictions also regained access to the EU’s Erasmus+ student exchange program and Horizon Europe research funding.

Welcoming the Council’s decision to lift funding restrictions on Hungary, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on the social media platform X: “A new chapter starts today. For Hungary and for Europe.”

FUNDING REMAINS BLOCKED

The 4.2 billion euros (about $4.7 billion) are part of a broader 16.4 billion euro (about $18.4 billion) funding package that Hungary has been seeking to unlock following restrictions and conditions imposed under Orbán’s government over corruption and rule-of-law concerns.

The broader package also includes 10 billion euros in post-pandemic recovery funds and 2.2 billion euros linked to academic freedom, with access to those amounts still subject to further assessments and EU requirements.

Separate cohesion funding restrictions remain in place over fundamental rights, including protections for LGBTQ+ people and asylum seekers, as well as additional conditions concerning social inclusion.

The EU funding decision was separate from the amendments to the child protection legislation, although both developments formed part of Magyar’s efforts to repair relations with Brussels.

Orbán’s Fidesz party and its Christian Democratic allies opposed Tuesday’s amendments, along with lawmakers from the far-right nationalist Our Homeland Movement, known in Hungarian as Mi Hazánk.

CHRISTIAN FAMILY VALUES

The Christian Democratic People’s Party (KDNP) maintained that LGBTQ+ content should not be promoted in schools or the media and criticized changes affecting access to information about convicted child sex offenders, while Fidesz accused the government of weakening safeguards introduced to protect children.

Some conservative Christian groups and politicians have expressed concern about what they regard as the growing influence of LGBTQ+ activism in schools and other areas affecting children, arguing that parents should have the primary responsibility for their children’s moral and sexual education.

In a statement issued October 10, Hungary’s Catholic bishops reaffirmed traditional Christian teachings on marriage and family life, emphasizing the love and fidelity of a man and a woman in marriage, the upbringing of children, and the responsibility of families and the Church to provide care and support.

The debate over child protection also revived memories of a scandal that severely damaged Orbán’s government after it emerged in 2024 that then-President Katalin Novák had pardoned the former deputy director of a state-run children’s home in Bicske, near Budapest, who had been convicted of helping cover up the sexual abuse of children by the institution’s director.

The revelations triggered nationwide outrage and forced Novák to resign, while former Justice Minister Judit Varga withdrew from public life. Magyar, Varga’s former husband and previously an insider in Orbán’s political establishment, emerged as a leading government critic during the scandal, accusing the authorities of hypocrisy over their claims to champion child protection.

MAGYAR AVOIDS PRIDE

Magyar later made the treatment of vulnerable children in state care a central political issue, pointing to further allegations of physical and sexual abuse in government institutions as evidence that Orbán’s administration had failed to protect children while presenting itself as their defender.

However, Magyar has been careful to avoid becoming embroiled in the debate over LGBTQ+ rights, staying away from Budapest Pride marches and largely avoiding the issue during his election campaign, reflecting the political sensitivity of the issue within his center-right electorate.

His cautious approach contrasts with his government’s decision to ease restrictions on LGBTQ+ content, reflecting the challenge of balancing activists’ demands for what they describe as “greater equality” with the traditional values of parts of his electorate.

Magyar rejected opposition criticism of the legislative changes, arguing that the revised law strengthens protection against sexual exploitation, violence and abuse while improving safeguards for vulnerable children.

The broader legislative package also includes measures addressing children left in hospitals after medical treatment is no longer necessary. Under the revised rules, child welfare authorities must act within eight days when a child remains hospitalized without a medical justification.

LGBTQ+ DEBATE CONTINUES

The legislation also changes access to information about convicted child sex offenders, retaining access for child protection purposes while introducing additional official review and data safeguards.

Magyar, who describes himself as a conservative politician, has sought to reverse several policies introduced under Orbán while avoiding a wholesale embrace of the demands of LGBTQ+ rights organizations.

In September, Magyar announced plans to revise adoption rules that effectively prevent same-sex couples from adopting children, although the restrictions had not yet been removed.

In an interview published Saturday by Finland’s Helsingin Sanomatnewspaper, Magyar acknowledged the political sensitivity of the issue. “I’m very cautious,” he said. “As prime minister, it’s my duty to represent all Hungarians, and we have sensitive issues, such as the situation of sexual minorities.”

Magyar did not give a definitive commitment on introducing same-sex marriage, although his office later clarified that he had not explicitly ruled out pursuing such a change.

Human rights organizations view the parliamentary vote as a milestone in Hungary’s approach to LGBTQ+ rights, but the debate over the country’s family policies and Christian values is far from over.