Erdogan Criticizes LGBTQ+ Community: ‘Deviation a Whip, Abortions are Murder’

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched a fierce attack against the LGBTQ+ community and reproductive rights during his speech at the International Family Forum. Erdogan described Turkey’s fertility rate as ‘catastrophic’ and sounded the alarm over the country’s demographic imbalance. ‘For many years, powerful centers have promoted population control and family planning policies. Since the 1960s, similar policies have been implemented in our country and around the world. Abortions, which essentially constitute murder outside of medical needs, have been normalized by the same circles. Unfortunately, our demographic balance has been disrupted,’ Erdogan stated. He highlighted that Turkey’s fertility rate has dropped to 1.48 for the first time in history, far below the critical threshold of 2.1. Declaring the period 2026-2035 as the ‘Decade of Family and Population,’ Erdogan emphasized that economic factors do not explain the declining birth rate. The Turkish president once again made harsh statements against the LGBTQ+ community, accusing critics of being ‘lynched and turned into living dead.’ He warned about an organized plan targeting the erasure of gender identities through irreversible medical interventions on children. Asserting it was no coincidence that these ‘vile hands’ promoting deviant relationships reach out to young children, Erdogan labeled them as enemies of humanity, women, and children. Continuing in the same tone, Erdogan stressed that Turkey would not tolerate any ideology waging war on families or denying human nature.