Same-sex adoption

Given that constitutions and statutes usually do not address the adoption rights of LGBT persons, judicial decisions often determine whether they can serve as parents either individually or as couples.

[1][2][3] Same-sex parents pursuing adoption must also contend with social pressures to conform to heteronormative gender roles.

[4] The concept of gender role models is necessitated by the bureaucratic organization of foster care and adoption agencies, particularly in the United States.

In the United States, for example, legislation to prevent adoption by LGBT people has been introduced in many jurisdictions; such efforts have largely been defeated.

Prior to 1973, state courts commonly barred gay and lesbian individuals from holding a parenting role, especially through adoption.

[137] The Child Care Act has since been replaced by the Children's Act, 2005, which allows joint adoption by "partners in a permanent domestic life-partnership", whether same- or opposite-sex, and step-parent adoption by a person who is the "permanent domestic life-partner" of the child's current parent.

[143] Since March 10, 2022 joint parenthood of same-sex couples is legal in Chile after the entry into force of Law 21,400 on Equal Marriage, which explicitly guarantees non-discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity for custody purposes, filiation and adoption whether or not the couples are married or whether or not they had their children through assisted human fertilization.

[145] On 4 November 2015, in a 6-2 Constitutional Court ruling, Colombia decided to allow adoption by LGBT peoples.

[148] Same-sex couples are able to adopt in Mexico City (since 2010), Coahuila (2014), Campeche (2016), Colima (2016), Michoacán (2016), Morelos (2016), Veracruz (2016), Baja California (2017), Chihuahua (2017), Querétaro (2017), Puebla (2018), Chiapas (2018), Nayarit (2019), Aguascalientes (2019), Hidalgo (2019), San Luis Potosí (2019), Quintana Roo (2022), Yucatan (2022), Durango (2022), Tamaulipas (2022), Guerrero (2022), Nuevo Leon (2023), Tabasco (2024).

[149] Eight days later, Head of Government ("Mayor") Marcelo Ebrard signed the bill into law, which officially took effect on 4 March 2010.

[151] On 12 February 2014, the state's congress overwhelmingly approved the measure more than two years following the supreme court decision.

[121] On 3 February 2017 the SCJN emitted tesis 08/2017 in which it is stated that the family of the LGBT community doesn't end with a couple, but that it also extends onto the right to have and raise children.

Therefore, LGBT couples wishing to form a family and adopt children will be legally protected and can't be limited by any governmental entity.

[127] In 1979, Reverend John Kuiper of the Metropolitan Community Church and his husband became the first gay men in America to win the right to adopt a child.

[107][155] LGBT rights for adoption of children in Asia are almost nonexistent, except in Israel, Thailand (TBD) and Taiwan.

Some Asian countries still criminalize same-sex activities and do not have anti-discrimination laws, which are obstacles for legislating for LGBT adoption.

[156] The issue of same-sex adoption has been the subject of a long-running political and legal battle in Israel that was resolved in December 2023, when the Israeli Supreme Court interpreted existing law to allow same-sex adoptions, as the law gives absolute priority to the welfare of the child and not to the gender of its parents.

[161][162] On 17 May 2013, French President François Hollande signed into law the bill that opened marriage and adoption rights linked to it for same sex couples.

[163] In 1998, a nursery school teacher from Lons-le-Saunier, living as a couple with another woman, had applied for an authorization to adopt a child from the département (local government) of Jura.

[170] On 20 November 2015, 5 proposals from several left-wing parties were voted favourably by the new parliament as result of 4 October General Elections.

[170] In July 2014 through Life Partnership Act Croatia recognized an institution similar to step-child adoption called partner-guardian.

[174][175] On 6 April 2015, the Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015 passed by Parliament in March 2015 which extends full adoption rights to cohabiting couples and those in civil partnerships was promulgated by the President of Ireland.

[176][177][178][179] On 20 November 2015 the Portuguese Parliament approved; by 141 votes against 87 with 2 abstentions; a diploma presented by all the parties (except the right-wing PàF) to allow same-sex adoption.