Puerto Rico: Supreme Court upholds gay adoption ban

The Supreme Court in Puerto Rico voted on Wednesday to uphold a law banning same-sex couples from adopting children.

The Associated Press reports that the court voted 5-4 to keep the law which makes it illegal for gay and lesbian couples to adopt.

The grounds for the law were that same-sex couples do not consitute a traditional family unit, and argues that a mother and father is the best situation for a child’s well being.

The vote on gay adoption came just two days after, in the US commonwealth, a massive anti-gay demonstration took place, with some reports claiming that as many as 200,000 attended.

A number of bills which could offer more rights to gay and lesbian Puerto Ricans are set to be considered by lawmakers in the country.

In Germany this week, the country’s highest court ruled that one member of a civil partnership should be able to adopt their partner’s stepchild or adopted child.

Until now, same-sex couples could only adopt their partner’s biological child.

Earlier in February, the Russian children’s rights ombudsman said that allowing French gay couples to adopt Russian orphans would be “unconstitutional”.

• Dec 01 2023

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