Hungary wants more children. But is it protecting them and their mothers?

There were many warning signs for Ibolya that Endre, her former partner, was planning to take away their twin baby daughters.

They started before Endre (a pseudonym) moved out, an event triggered when he insisted on bathing the girls by himself, behind a locked door. Afterward, though Ibolya and Endre agreed he would get to see the children twice a week, on the twins’ first visit with their father he refused to return them until Ibolya called the police. Problematic encounters ensued.

One sunny day in March, when Ibolya met him at a public park with the twins, he kidnapped and kept them. But when she went to the authorities for help, Ibolya had little success.

Police recommended she report the case to a civil court and argue that he was endangering the

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