ALBAWABA - Taiwan's parliament passed a law on Tuesday granting same-sex couples the ability to jointly adopt children, bringing the country one step closer to marriage equality.
Adoption in Taiwan was previously limited to heterosexual couples and single people, who can register as legal parents. In the case of a same-sex couple, only one of them used to register as the parent.
The Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights, called the decision a significant step toward full marriage equality. “Today’s success shows that the consensus in Taiwan is to protect the human rights of LGBTI peoples and promote gender equality,” the alliance said in a statement.
In January, a male couple successfully challenged the ban and managed to adopt a child as the court ruled in their favor, saying it is in the child’s best interest. Later that month, Taiwan's government announced a new regulation allowing Taiwanese citizens to marry a foreign spouse of the same gender, even if their partner is from a jurisdiction that does not legalize same-sex marriage.
“Legally, we have finally returned same-sex couples to their children,” Fan Yun, a lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, told CNN.
“Parental love is the same, and only through joint adoption can we protect the rights and interests of each other by law,” Yun added.
In 2019, Taiwan was the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, however, same-sex couples were not allowed to jointly adopt children.
