France: Top civil court reinforces gay adoption
The top civil court in France has ruled that authorities must allow same-sex couples to adopt, regardless of how the child was conceived.
The Court of Cassation ruled today that even if a child is conceived using IVF, technically illegal for gay parents in France, it should not stop their legal right to adopt.
Last year’s same-sex marriage law was bolstered by the ruling today, as despite clearing the way for gay adoption, a law meaning only straight, fertile couples could use IVF.
Some courts had refused to allow the adoption of children who were born abroad to lesbian couples who used IVF.
The Local reports that the law defined those adoptions as “fraud”.
The ruling by the court allowed “by adoption, the establishment of a family link between a child and two people of the same sex, without any restriction relative to the mode of conception of the the child.”
Despite that the ruling is advisory, and not enforceable, the Court of Cassation’s rulings are usually regarded as precedent used by lower courts.
