Czech MP apologizes for insulting children in state care

Czech MP Marek Benda (Civic Democrats – ODS), speaking on a Czech Television program, insulted children who are wards of the state by saying they are "of no use". The MP made the insulting remarks during a debate with Czech Human Rights Minister Jiří Dienstbier (Czech Social Democratic Party – ČSSD) when the conversation turned to adopting children in state care.  

Benda apologized today for his remarks. "You know well, Mr Minister, that there are no children of any use actually in a children’s home. That’s just the reality…," he said on the "Události, komentáře" (News, Commentary) program.

The MP insisted on his claim even after Dienstbier responded to it. "Maybe it sounds harsh, but those are children who very often are so ill and so forth… that they wouldn’t survive anywhere else but in a children’s home," Benda said.  

Today, however, MP Benda has reversed his position and apologized for his remarks in an interview for news server iDNES.cz. "I admit that was an inappropriate choice of words. I was just attempting to explain that these children must primarily be legally available for adoption," he said.  

"Once again, I apologize, that was not an appropriately chosen term. It was the wrong one. This was not about evaluating those children as people, but as being of use for adoption," Benda said.